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Effect of 17ß-estradiol on zinc content of hippocampal mossy fibers in ovariectomized adult rats

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Abstract

Sex hormones such as estrogen (17ß-estradiol) may modulate the zinc content of the hippocampus during the female estrous cycle. The mossy fiber system is highly plastic in the adult brain and is influenced by multiple factors including learning, memory, and stress. However, whether 17ß-estradiol is able to modulate the morphological plasticity of the mossy fibers throughout the estrous cycle remains unknown. Ovariectomized (Ovx) female 70- to 90-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats without or with estrogen supplement (OvxE) were compared with control rats in three stages of the estrous cycle: diestrus, proestrus, and estrus. The brain tissue from each of the five groups was processed with Timm’s silver sulfide technique using the Image J program to measure the mossy fiber area in the stratum lucidum of CA3. Total zinc in the hippocampus was measured using Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Two additional (Ovx and OvxE) groups were examined in spatial learning and memory tasks using the Morris water maze. Similar increases in total zinc content and mossy fiber area were observed. The mossy fiber area decreased by 26 ± 2 % (difference ± SEM percentages) in Ovx and 23 ± 4 % in estrus as compared to the proestrus group and by 18 ± 2 % in Ovx compared to OvxE. Additionally, only the OvxE group learned and remembered the task. These results suggest that estradiol has a significant effect on zinc content in hippocampal CA3 during the proestrus stage of the estrous cycle and is associated with correct performance in learning and memory.

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Acknowledgments

This work was carried out in partial fulfillment of the requirements to obtain the Doctor′s Degree (Doctorado en Ciencias Biomédicas, UNAM) by E. Padilla-Gómez, who was a recipient of graduate scholarship from CONACYT (17276) and by the support of DGAPA-UNAM. The authors wish to thank A. Aguilar Vázquez, T. Martínez, L. Palma, N. Hernández, N. Serafin, and M. García for technical assistance. We are grateful to M.Sc. S. Castro for her invaluable suggestions on the manuscript and to Dr. D. Pless for proofreading.

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  1. Departamento de Neurobiología del Desarrollo y Neurofisiología, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus UNAM Juriquilla, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, 76230, Querétaro, Mexico

    E. Padilla-Gómez, V. Beltrán-Campos & S. Diaz-Cintra

  2. División de Ciencias de la Salud e Ingenierías, Universidad de Guanajuato, campus Celaya-Salvatierra, 38110, Guanajuato, Mexico

    V. Beltrán-Campos

  3. Departamento de Neuroquímica, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, SSA, 14269, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    S. Montes, A. Díaz-Ruíz & C. Ríos

  4. Departamento de Neurobiología Conductual y Cognitiva, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Juriquilla, 76230, Querétaro, Mexico

    G. L. Quirarte

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  1. E. Padilla-Gómez
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  2. V. Beltrán-Campos
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Padilla-Gómez, E., Beltrán-Campos, V., Montes, S. et al. Effect of 17ß-estradiol on zinc content of hippocampal mossy fibers in ovariectomized adult rats. Biometals 25, 1129–1139 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-012-9575-1

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