Proteomic changes during adult stage in pre-optic, hypothalamus, hippocampus and pituitary regions of female rat brain following neonatal exposure to estradiol-17β

• Published in: General and comparative endocrinology 2018-09, Vol.266, p.126-134
• Main Authors: Govindaraj, Vijayakumar, Shridharan, Radhika Nagamangalam, Rao, Addicam Jagannadha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Hippocampus; Hypothalamus; Neonatal estradiol-17β exposure; Pituitary; Pre-optic area; Proteomics; Two-dimensional electrophoresis
• ISSN: 0016-6480; 1095-6840
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.05.005

[Display omitted] •Neonatal exposure to E2 or EDCs alters brain and adult reproductive function.•We report protein profile of adult female rat brain regions after neonatal E2 exposure.•E2 treatment alters 14-3-3ζ, Axin2, LMNA, PEBP1, AINX and STX7 levels.•Various functions including formation of dendritic spine density were affected.•Results may help to understand the mechanisms of impact of E2 on reproductive output. Although neonatal exposure to estrogen or estrogenic compounds results in irreversible changes in the brain function and reproductive abnormalities during adulthood but the underlying mechanisms are still largely unknown. The present study has attempted to compare the protein profiles of sexually dimorphic brain regions of adult female rats which were exposed to estradiol- 17β during neonatal period. The total proteins extracted from pre-optic area (POA), hypothalamus, hippocampus and pituitary of control and neonatally E2 treated female rats was subjected to 2D-SDS-PAGE and differentially expressed proteins were identified by MALDI TOF/TOF-MS. Our results revealed that a total of 21 protein spots which were identified as differentially expressed in all the four regions analyzed; the differential expression was further validated by RT-PCR and western blotting. The differentially expressed proteins such as 14-3-3 zeta/delta (POA), LMNA (hippocampus), Axin2 (hypothalamus), Syntaxin-7 (hippocampus), prolactin and somatotropin (pituitary) which have very important functions in the process of neuronal differentiation, migration, axon outgrowth, formation of dendritic spine density and synaptic plasticity and memory have not been previously reported in association with neonatal estrogen exposure. The affected brain functions are very important for the establishment of sex specific brain morphology and behavior. Our results suggest that the differentially expressed proteins may play an important role in irreversible changes in the brain function as well as reproductive abnormalities observed in the female rats during adulthood.