Effects of fetal alcohol exposure on brain 5 alpha-reductase/aromatase activity
| Autor: | P.K. Rudeen, Venkataseshu K. Ganjam, W.R. Kelce |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1990 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
medicine.drug_class Central nervous system Hypothalamus Gestational Age Testicle Biochemistry Lesion Endocrinology Aromatase 3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase Pregnancy Internal medicine medicine Animals Maternal-Fetal Exchange Testosterone Fetus Sexual differentiation biology Ethanol Brain Rats Inbred Strains Androgen Preoptic Area Rats medicine.anatomical_structure Animals Newborn biology.protein Female medicine.symptom |
| Zdroj: | Journal of steroid biochemistry. 35(1) |
| ISSN: | 0022-4731 |
| Popis: | The local formation of the testosterone metabolites 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone and 17 beta-estradiol within the hypothalamic-preoptic area (HPOA) is essential for the normal sexual differentiation of the male central nervous system (CNS) during a perinatal critical period in the rat. Testosterone, the substrate for these reactions, is derived primarily from synthesis within the fetal testis. Fetal alcohol exposure (FAE) during this critical period profoundly affects fetal testicular steroidogenesis as well as the sexual differentiation of the CNS. The present study was conducted to determine whether FAE directly affects the local metabolism of androgens within the developing CNS or whether reduced androgen substrate, via a testicular lesion, is a more likely explanation for the known effects of FAE on the CNS. The enzymatic activities of 5 alpha-reductase and aromatase were simultaneously quantitated in the newborn rat HPOA following FAE. Neither the enzymatic activity of 5 alpha-reductase, aromatase nor their ratio were significantly influenced (P greater than 0.05) by FAE with respect to controls. FAE apparently does not alter the disposition of the androgens within the newborn rat HPOA. These results support the hypothesis that FAE alters the sexual differentiation of the CNS through inhibition of androgen biosynthesis at the level of the perinatal rat testis. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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