화학공학소재연구정보센터
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Vol.434, No.2, 287-292, 2013
Estrogen-induced cell signaling in the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the rat preoptic area: Potential involvement of cofilin in actin dynamics for cell migration
Estrogen is a key factor to induce the sexually dimorphic nucleus (SDN) in the preoptic area (POA) of the rat brain. Identification of estrogen-dependent signaling pathways at SDN in POA during the critical period is a prerequisite for elucidating the mechanism. In the present study, we treated female rats with/without 17 beta-estradiol (E-2) at birth, designated as postnatal day I (P1), and prepared total RNA from brain slices containing SDN for DNA microarray analysis. Among the estrogen-responsive genes identified, protein kinase C-delta (PKC-delta) was significantly up-regulated by E-2 at P5. We examined the downstream effectors of PKC-delta protein by Western blotting and found an E-2-induced PKC-delta/Rac1/PAK1/LIMK1/cofilin pathway. In the pathway, E-2 suppressed the phosphorylation (inactive form) of cofilin. This result was supported by immunohistochemistry, where the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of cofilin occurred at SDN, which suggests that cell migration is a cue to create sexual dimorphism in POA. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.