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Synaptogenic effects of neonatal estradiol treatment in rat superior cervical ganglia
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Synaptogenic effects of neonatal estradiol treatment in rat superior cervical ganglia

Linda L. Wright and Arnold J. Smolen
Brain research. Developmental brain research, v 21(2), pp 161-165
1985
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-3806(85)90204-4
PMID: 4041901
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

development dihydrotestosterone estradiol rat superior cervical ganglion sympathetic neuron synaptogenesis
Neonatal rats treated with testosterone propionate or 17-β-estradiol during the first two postnatal weeks have more neurons and synapses in their superior cervical ganglia (SCGs) at 15 days of age than do vehicle-treated littermates 35,36. To determine whether a non-aromatizable androgen would similarly increase the number of SCG synapses, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) was injected into male rats beginning on the day of birth. The animals were sacrificed on postnatal day 15 and the SCGs removed on postnatal day 15. Counts of synapses showed no difference in the number of synapses between control and DHT-treated animals. These results suggest that the actions of testosterone to increase the numbers of SCG synapses may be via aromatization to estradiol. An additional study was done to determine whether the additional synapses formed in SCGs of animals treated with estradiol arise from neurons whose axons are in the cervical sympathetic trunk or from intrinsic neurons, i.e., SIF cells or other principal ganglion neurons. Neonatal males were injected with 17-β-estradiol or vehicle beginning on the day of birth and continuing until the time of sacrifice on day 15. The number of intrinsic synapses formed under control and estradiol treatments was determined in SCGs of animals whose extrinsic synapses were caused to degenerate by severing the cervical sympathetic trunk bilaterally on postnatal day 13, two days before sacrifice. The total number of synapses (extrinsic plus intrinsic) in the ganglion after vehicle or estradiol treatment was determined in unoperated animals and used to calculate the number of extrinsic synapses. Results of synapse calculations showed that over 70% of the additional synapses present in SCGs of estradiol-treated animals arise from the cervical sympathetic trunk. The additional SCG neurons present after neonatal estradiol treatment receive approximately the same ratio of intrinsic to extrinsic synapses as controls, on average, and are thus likely to be normally innervated.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Developmental Biology
Neurosciences
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