| First Author | de Bournonville C | Year | 2023 |
| Journal | J Neuroendocrinol | Volume | 35 |
| Issue | 10 | Pages | e13341 |
| PubMed ID | 37806316 | Mgi Jnum | J:343175 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7564369 | Doi | 10.1111/jne.13341 |
| Citation | de Bournonville C, et al. (2023) Role of membrane estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) in the rapid regulation of male sexual behavior. J Neuroendocrinol 35(10):e13341 |
| abstractText | The activation of male sexual behavior depends on brain estrogen synthesis. Estrogens act through nuclear and membrane receptors producing effects within hours/days or seconds/minutes, respectively. In mice, estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) is the main estrogen receptor (ER) controlling the activation of male sexual behavior. Although neuroestrogens rapidly modulate mouse sexual behavior, it is not known whether these effects involve membrane ERalpha (mERalpha). This study combines two complementary approaches to address this question. C451A-ERalpha mice carry an ERalpha that cannot signal at the membrane, while estetrol (E4) is a natural estrogen acting as an agonist on nuclear ERalpha but as an antagonist on membrane ERalpha. In wild-type males, E4 decreased the number of mounts and intromissions after 10 min. In C451A-ERalpha males, E4 also altered sexual performance but after 30 min. E4 did not affect time spent near the female in both wild-type and C451A-ERalpha mice. However, regardless of genotype, the aromatase inhibitor 1,4,6-Androstatriene-3,17-dione (ATD) decreased both sexual performance and the time spent near the female after 10 and 30 min, confirming the key role of aromatization in the rapid control of sexual behavior and motivation. In conclusion, the shift in timing at which the effect of E4 is observed in mice lacking mERalpha suggests a role for mERalpha in the regulation of rapid effects of neuroestrogens on sexual performance, thus providing the first demonstration that E4 acts as an antagonist of a mER in the brain. The persisting effect of ATD on behavior in C451A-ERalpha mice also suggests the implication of another ER. |
