Heterogeneous Regulation of Steroid Hormone Receptors in the Brain

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Abstract
SYNOPSIS. The ovarian steroid hormones, estradiol and progesterone, act in the guinea pig brain to regulate the expression of sexual behavior. In studies of the cellular mechanisms of steroid hormone action, we have used an immunocytochemical technique to study the regulation of these receptors in different neuroanatomical regions. We have observed that progestin receptor-immunoreactivity in cells in certain neuroanatomical regions are more responsive to particular steroid hormone treatments than are cells in other regions. Similarly, we have observed selective regulation of progestin receptor-immunoreactivity in neurons identified on the basis of their neuropeptide content. Finally, in the rostral part of the ventrolateral hypothalamus, a site involved in hormonal regulation of female sexual behavior, estrogen receptor-immunoreactive neurons that have dopamine-β-hydroxylase varicosities closely-associated have higher levels of immunostaining for estrogen receptors than neurons without this relationship. Taken together, these studies demonstrate the possibility of studying the microregulation of steroid hormone receptors in subsets of neurons defined by neuroanatomical location, neuropeptide/neurotransmitter content, afferent input and projection sites. The ability to study interactions among different systems at the cellular level may help us to understand more clearly the cellular processes involved in hormonal regulation of fundamental neuroendocrine processes, including the neuroendocrine regulation of sexual behavior

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