Regulation of Estrogen Receptor and Progesterone Receptor Messenger Ribonucleic Acid by Estrogen in the Brain of the Whiptail Lizard (Cnemidophorus uniparens)

Receptive behavior in females vertebrates is controlled by hormones, principally estrogen, secreted by the ovary. Estrogen influences behavior by interacting with a specific estrogen binding protein, or receptor, located in target cells in certain hypothalamic nuclei. To better understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the control of receptive behavior in whiptail lizards, we investigated the effects of exogenous estrogen on t h e regulation of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor expression in several regions of the brains of Cnernidophorus uniparens. First we determined a dosage of 17β-estradiol 3-benzoate (0.5 μg) which reliably induced receptive behavior in ovariectomized C. uniparens. Then using in situ hybridization, we examined the effects of that dosage on the expression of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor mRNA in the brain 24 h after injection. Estrogen treatment resulted in a significant up-regulation of estrogen receptor mRNA expression in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus and torus semicircularis, down-regulation of estrogen receptor mRNA expression in the lateral septum, and no change in the periventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus, the periventricular nucleus of the preoptic area, and the dorsal hypothalamus. The same dosage resulted in increased progesterone receptor mRNA expression in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus and the periventricular nucleus of the preoptic area; no significant changes in progesterone receptor mRNA expression were observed in the periventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus or the torus semicircularis, although the differences in progesterone receptor expression in the torus semicircularis approached statistical significance. The up-regulation of estrogen receptor gene expression by estrogen in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus of lizards is opposite to that reported in female rats in which estrogen down-regulates estrogen receptor expression in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus. We propose that this may be related to differences in reproductive physiology between vertebrates which have extended follicular phases and prolonged periods of estrus and rats, which have an abbreviated follicular phase and brief periods of estrus.