Neonatal overexpression of estrogen receptor‐α alters midbrain dopamine neuron development and reverses the effects of low maternal care in female offspring. Issue 10 (8th July 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Peña, Catherine Jensen; Champagne, Frances A.; Woolley, Sarah M. N.; Sanes, Dan H.
• Is Part Of: Developmental neurobiology. Volume 75:Issue 10(2015:Oct.)
• Page Start: 1114
• Page End: 1124
• Publication Date: 2014-07-08
• Subjects: Neurobiology -- Periodicals; Neurobiology; Neurobiologie -- Périodiques; Neurobiology; Periodicals; Periodicals; 573.838
• DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22206
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1932-8451

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>ABSTRACT</title> <p>Maternal behavior is dependent on estrogen receptor‐alpha (ERα; <italic>Esr1</italic>) and oxytocin receptor (OTR) signaling in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) of the hypothalamus, as well as dopamine signaling from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to forebrain regions. Previous studies in rats indicate that low levels of maternal care, particularly licking/grooming (LG), lead to reduced levels of MPOA ERα and VTA dopamine neurons in female offspring and predict lower levels of postpartum maternal behavior by these offspring. The aim of this study was to determine the functional impact on maternal behavior of neonatal manipulation of ERα in females that had experienced low versus high levels of postnatal maternal LG. Adenovirus expressing ESR1 was targeted to the MPOA in female pups from low and high LG litters on postnatal day 2–3. Overexpression of ESR1 in low LG offspring elevated the level of ERα‐immunoreactive cells in the MPOA and of tyrosine hydroxylase cells in the VTA to that observed in high LG females. Amongst juvenile female low LG offspring, <italic>ESR1</italic> overexpression also decreased the latency to engage in maternal behavior toward donor pups. These results show that virally mediated expression of <italic>ESR1</italic> in the neonatal rat hypothalamus results in lasting changes in <italic>ESR1</italic> expression through the juvenile period, and can "rescue" hormone receptor levels and behavior of offspring reared by low LG dams, potentially mediated by downstream alterations within reward circuitry. Thus, the transmission of maternal behavior from one generation to the next can be augmented by neonatal ERα in the MPOA. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 75: 1114–1124, 2015</p> </abstract>