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Sex-dependent activity of the spinal excitatory amino acid transporter: Role of estrous cycle
- Source :
- Neuroscience. 333
- Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Females are more likely to experience visceral pain than males, yet mechanisms underlying this sex bias are not fully elucidated. Moreover, pain sensitivity can change throughout the menstrual cycle. Alterations in the glutamatergic system have been implicated in several pain-disorders; however, whether these are sex-dependent is unclear. Thus, we aimed to investigate sex differences in the spinal cord glutamate uptake and how it varies across the estrous cycle. The activity of the glutamate transporters, excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) was assessed using an ex vivo aspartate radioactive uptake assay in the lumbosacral spinal cord in Sprague-Dawley male and female rats. The gene expression of EAATs, glutamate receptor subunits NR1 and NR2B and the estrogen receptors ERα & ERβ in the spinal cord were also analyzed. EAAT activity was lower in females, particularly during the estrus phase, and this was the only cycle stage that was responsive to the pharmacological effects of the EAATs activator riluzole. Interestingly, EAAT1 mRNA expression was lower in high-estrogen and high-ERα states compared to diestrus in females. We conclude that the Spinal EAAT activity in females is different to that in males, and varies across the estrous cycle. Furthermore, the expression levels of estrogen receptors also showed a cycle-dependent pattern that may affect EAATs function and expression.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Estrogen receptor
Glutamic Acid
Estrous Cycle
Biology
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Tissue Culture Techniques
03 medical and health sciences
Glutamatergic
Glutamate Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
0302 clinical medicine
Internal medicine
medicine
Animals
Estrogen Receptor beta
RNA, Messenger
Estrogen receptor beta
Estrous cycle
General Neuroscience
Glutamate receptor
Estrogen Receptor alpha
Estrogens
Glutamic acid
Riluzole
030104 developmental biology
Endocrinology
Spinal Cord
Female
Estrogen receptor alpha
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
medicine.drug
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18737544
- Volume :
- 333
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Neuroscience
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....e822f9ece4b7f05744fdf1b641d2b6ec