Gene expression in neuroendocrine cells during the critical period for sexual differentiation of the brain.

Following transcription of the SRY gene on the Y chromosome of genetic males, a cascade of genomic and biochemical events causes the developing brain to be influenced by two testosterone metabolites, the potent androgen dihydrotestosterone and the aromatization product estradiol (E2). These steroid hormones binding to their cognate nuclear receptors produce differential gene expression profiles between male and female brains, and as a result, male-typical sex behaviors appear in adulthood and female-typical sex behaviors are suppressed. Although anatomical and cellular substrates underlying sexually dimorphic brain and behavior have been identified, still very little information is available about the molecular mechanisms involved. Microarray technology is a powerful technique that can be a used to assess the changes in thousands of gene transcripts simultaneously. Thus such high-throughput screening may be a useful initial step in the identification of estrogen-responsive genes involved in the sexual differentiation of brain.
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