A functional cellular framework for sex and estrous cycle-dependent gene...

A functional cellular framework for sex and estrous cycle-dependent gene expression and behavior
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FROM: https://phys.org/news/2022-01-sex-ty...male-mice.html Sex-typical behavior of male, female mice guided by differences in brain's gene activity by Stanford University Medical Center (2022-01-21) Male and female mouse brains differ in important ways, according to a new study led by Stanford Medicine investigators. These differences are likely reflected in the brains of men and women, the researchers say. The scientists probed four tiny structures within mouse brains that are known to program "rating, dating, mating and hating" behaviors. These behaviors—for example, males' quick determination of a stranger's sex, females' receptivity to mating, and maternal protectiveness—help the animals reproduce and their offspring survive. Analyzing tissue that was extracted from these brain structures and enriched for cells responsive to sex hormones, the scientists found more than 1,000 genes that are substantially more active in the brains of one sex versus the other. Genes are the blueprints for proteins, which do virtually all of a cell's work. Gene-activation levels—the rate at which the information genes contain is copied and converted into proteins—determine a cell's functions... (SNIP)

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Original Paper:

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Quote:

FROM: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S...674(21)01494-X A functional cellular framework for sex and estrous cycle-dependent gene expression and behavior Joseph R. Knoedler, Sayaka Inoue, Daniel W. Bayless, Taehong Yang, Adarsh Tantry, Chung-ha Davis, Nicole Y. Leung, Srinivas Parthasarathy, Grace Wang, Maricruz Alvarado, Abbas H. Rizvi, Lief E. Fenno, Charu Ramakrishnan, Karl Deisseroth & Nirao M. Shah (2022-01-21) Highlights 1,415 genes are dimorphic by sex or estrous state in four Esr1+ neuronal populations All 137 Esr1+ cell types within these four populations express subsets of these genes Only 1 male BNSTpr Esr1+ cell type is needed to recognize sexes, mate, and fight Only 1 female VMHvl Esr1+ cell type has dynamic projections and is needed to mate Summary Sex hormones exert a profound influence on gendered behaviors. How individual sex hormone-responsive neuronal populations regulate diverse sex-typical behaviors is unclear. We performed orthogonal, genetically targeted sequencing of four estrogen receptor 1-expressing (Esr1+) populations and identified 1,415 genes expressed differentially between sexes or estrous states. Unique subsets of these genes were distributed across all 137 transcriptomically defined Esr1+ cell types, including estrous stage-specific ones, that comprise the four populations. We used differentially expressed genes labeling single Esr1+ cell types as entry points to functionally characterize two such cell types, BNSTprTac1/Esr1 and VMHvlCckar/Esr1. We observed that these two cell types, but not the other Esr1+ cell types in these populations, are essential for sex recognition in males and mating in females, respectively. Furthermore, VMHvlCckar/Esr1 cell type projections are distinct from those of other VMHvlEsr1 cell types. Together, projection and functional specialization of dimorphic cell types enables sex hormone-responsive populations to regulate diverse social behaviors. (SNIP)

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Is sexual orientation genetic?

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