2010 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Analysis of interaction between the gonads and brain during sex differentiation of the amniotes
| Project/Area Number |
20570053
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Morphology/Structure
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
PARK MinKyun The University of Tokyo, 大学院・理学系研究科, 准教授 (00228694)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2008 – 2010
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| Keywords | 性決定・性分化 / 外温性動物 / 内分泌 / 生殖腺 / 脳・神経 |
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| Research Abstract |
Sexual differentiation in the amniote brain is believed to be regulated by gonadal sex steroid hormones. Recently, however, the possibility of brain-autonomous sexual differentiation in avian and reptilian species has been reported. In our previous research, the mRNA of Ad4BP/SF-1, a transcription factor that regulates steroidogenic enzymes, showed significant expression level in the early-developing chick brain (around day 5.5 of incubation) before gonadal sexual differentiation. Therefore this research was designed to analyze more detail expressional character of this gene and to find out possible involvement of SF-1 in the brain-autonomous sexual differentiation.
First of all, the mRNA expression was examined by RT-PCR. The mRNA was already expressed in the ED3.5 embryonic brain. The in situ hybridization signal of SF-1 was strong and exclusively localized to the ventral area of the diencephalons from ED3.5. In the ventral diencephalons, the expression was detected only in lateral area, but not neuroepithelium, the surface of the ventricle. The area of lateral ventral diencephalon, which was SF-1 positive, rapidly increased until examined developmental stage (ED7.5). Depending on this expansion, the number of SF-1 positive cell was also increased. BrdU incorporation experiment suggests that the SF-1 positive cells came from the neuroepithelium. Now, I am trying to generate monoclonal antibodies against SF-1 for the more detail future study.
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