Is sex chromosome-dependent brain sexual differentiation affected by environmental factors?

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K08223
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Environmental physiology(including physical medicine and nutritional physiology)
• Research Institution: National Institute for Environmental Studies
• Principal Investigator: Maekawa Fumihiko 国立研究開発法人国立環境研究所, 環境リスク・健康研究センター, 主任研究員 (40382866)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): HAMAZAKI Hiroko 北里大学, 一般教育部, 教授 (00211483) ; SANO Kazuhiro 国立研究開発法人 環境リスク, 健康研究センター, 特別研究員 (60736081) ; KAWASHIMA Takaharu 国立研究開発法人 環境リスク, 健康研究センター, 主任研究員 (90360362)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 性分化 / 性ステロイドホルモン / 脳 / 内分泌かく乱物質

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The endocrinological and behavioral sex differences have been known to be predominantly dependent on brain sexual differentiation. Both the developmental exposure to sex steriods and brain chromosomal sex are thought to contribute to such brain sexual differentiation, but the precise mechanism how these factors are related to brain sexual differentiation has not fully understood. In this study, to clarify the interaction between these factors, we examined the expression of genes showing the difference between sexes in avian diencephalon. We could find specific genes that were controlled by the exposure to sex steriods and such genes were located both on the sex chromosomes and/or autosomes. From these results, we could establish the list of genes showing the variability of expressions to environmental factors.

Free Research Field

神経内分泌学