{"title":"Androgen receptor deficiency is associated with reduced aromatase expression in the ventromedial hypothalamus of male cichlids","authors":"Mariana S. Lopez, Beau A. Alward","doi":"10.1111/nyas.15096","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Social behaviors are regulated by sex steroid hormones, such as androgens and estrogens. However, the specific molecular and neural processes modulated by steroid hormones to generate social behaviors remain to be elucidated. We investigated whether some actions of androgen signaling in the control of social behavior may occur through the regulation of estradiol synthesis in the highly social cichlid fish, <i>Astatotilapia burtoni</i>. Specifically, we examined the expression of <i>cyp19a1</i>, a brain-specific aromatase, in the brains of male <i>A. burtoni</i> lacking a functional ARα gene (<i>ar1</i>), which was recently found to be necessary for aggression in this species. We found that <i>cyp19a1</i> expression is higher in wild-type males compared to <i>ar1</i> mutant males in the anterior tuberal nucleus (ATn), the putative fish homolog of the mammalian ventromedial hypothalamus, a brain region that is critical for aggression across taxa. Using <i>in situ</i> hybridization chain reaction, we determined that <i>cyp19a1<sup>+</sup></i> cells coexpress <i>ar1</i> throughout the brain, including in the ATn. We speculate that ARα may modulate <i>cyp19a1</i> expression in the ATn to govern aggression in <i>A. burtoni</i>. These studies provide novel insights into the hormonal mechanisms of social behavior in teleosts and lay a foundation for future functional studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":8250,"journal":{"name":"Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"103","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.15096","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Social behaviors are regulated by sex steroid hormones, such as androgens and estrogens. However, the specific molecular and neural processes modulated by steroid hormones to generate social behaviors remain to be elucidated. We investigated whether some actions of androgen signaling in the control of social behavior may occur through the regulation of estradiol synthesis in the highly social cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni. Specifically, we examined the expression of cyp19a1, a brain-specific aromatase, in the brains of male A. burtoni lacking a functional ARα gene (ar1), which was recently found to be necessary for aggression in this species. We found that cyp19a1 expression is higher in wild-type males compared to ar1 mutant males in the anterior tuberal nucleus (ATn), the putative fish homolog of the mammalian ventromedial hypothalamus, a brain region that is critical for aggression across taxa. Using in situ hybridization chain reaction, we determined that cyp19a1+ cells coexpress ar1 throughout the brain, including in the ATn. We speculate that ARα may modulate cyp19a1 expression in the ATn to govern aggression in A. burtoni. These studies provide novel insights into the hormonal mechanisms of social behavior in teleosts and lay a foundation for future functional studies.
期刊介绍:
Published on behalf of the New York Academy of Sciences, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences provides multidisciplinary perspectives on research of current scientific interest with far-reaching implications for the wider scientific community and society at large. Each special issue assembles the best thinking of key contributors to a field of investigation at a time when emerging developments offer the promise of new insight. Individually themed, Annals special issues stimulate new ways to think about science by providing a neutral forum for discourse—within and across many institutions and fields.