Seminar · Neuroendocrinology
Sex hormone regulation of neural gene expression
Jessika Tollkuhn · Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
Tue, Sep 12, 2023 · 15:00 UTC
Gonadal steroid hormones are the principal drivers of sex-variable biology in vertebrates. In the brain, estrogen (17β-estradiol) establishes neural sex differences in many species and modulates mood, behavior, and energy balance in adulthood. To understand the diverse effects of estradiol on the brain, we profiled the genomic binding of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), providing the first picture of the neural actions of any gonadal hormone receptor. To relate ERα target genes to brain sex differences we assessed gene expression and chromatin accessibility in the posterior bed nucleus of the st