Elsevier

Hormones and Behavior

Volume 40, Issue 2, September 2001, Pages 183-190
Hormones and Behavior

Regular Article
Ligand-Independent Activation of Progestin Receptors in Sexual Receptivity

https://doi.org/10.1006/hbeh.2001.1687Get rights and content

Abstract

Ovarian steroid hormones, estradiol and progesterone, regulate cellular functions in the central nervous system, resulting in the alterations in physiology and reproductive behavior. One means by which steroid hormones exert their neural effects on reproductive behavior is via their intracellular receptors functioning as ligand-dependent transcription factors. Studies from our laboratory in the past few years have shown that in addition to their cognate ligands, neurotransmitters like dopamine can activate intracellular steroid receptors in a ligand-independent manner. Using biochemical and molecular approaches we have demonstrated that the effects of neurotransmitter dopamine, on reproductive behavior in female rats and mice, occur by means of cross talk between membrane receptors for dopamine and intracellular progestin receptors (PRs). In this article, our studies on the integration of intracellular signaling pathways leading to the activation of PRs and its impact on modulation of reproductive behavior are summarized.

References (39)

  • M. Schumacher et al.

    Genomic and membrane actions of progesterone: Implications for reproductive physiology and behavior

    Behav. Brain Res.

    (1999)
  • S.M. Aronica et al.

    Progesterone receptor regulation in uterine cells: Stimulation by estrogen, cyclic adenosine monophosphate, and insulin-like growth factor-1 and suppression by antiestrogens and protein kinase inhibitors

    Endocrinology

    (1991)
  • S.M. Aronica et al.

    Stimulation of estrogen receptor-mediated transcription and alteration in the phosphorylation state of the rat uterine estrogen receptor by estrogen, cyclic adenosine monophosphate, and insulin-like growth factor-1

    Mol. Endocrinol.

    (1993)
  • Blaustein, J. D., and Olster, D. H.1989. Gonadal steroid hormone receptors and social behaviors. InJ. Balthazart (Ed.),...
  • N.A. Compagnone et al.

    Neurosteroids: Biosynthesis and function of these novel neuromodulators

    Front. Neuroendocrinol.

    (1900)
  • L.A. Denner et al.

    Regulation of progesterone receptor-mediated transcription by phosphorylation

    Science

    (1990)
  • A.F. Fienberg et al.

    DARPP-32: The regulator of efficacy of dopaminergic transmission

    Science

    (1998)
  • M.M. Foreman et al.

    Role of hypothalamic dopaminergic receptors in the control of lordosis behavior in the female rat

    Physiol. Behav.

    (1979)
  • P.H. Giangrande et al.

    The A and B isoforms of the human progesterone receptor: Two functionally different transcription factors encoded by a single gene

    Rec. Prog. Horm. Res.

    (1999)
  • Cited by (25)

    • Female Sexual Behavior and Hormones in Mammals

      2019, Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, Second Edition: Volume 1-5
    • Female sexual behavior and hormones in mammals

      2019, Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior
    • Steroid Hormone Action

      2019, Yen & Jaffe's Reproductive Endocrinology: Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Clinical Management: Eighth Edition
    • Steroid Hormone Action

      2013, Yen and Jaffe's Reproductive Endocrinology: Seventh Edition
    • Genes, hormones, and circuits: An integrative approach to study the evolution of social behavior

      2011, Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Both sex steroids and neuropeptide hormones have been implicated in modulating all facets of social behavior including aggression [81,92,260,282], sexual behavior [10,130], parental care [61,165,189], and sociality [41,67,95]. Sex steroid hormones can affect neural circuits and behavior via long-lasting genomic mechanisms that involve changes in gene expression [203,286] as well as through rapid effects mediated by signal transduction cascades [170,176,222]. Neuropeptides, in contrast, exert their actions exclusively through signal transduction cascades [114,208].

    • Methamphetamine facilitates female sexual behavior and enhances neuronal activation in the medial amygdala and ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus

      2010, Psychoneuroendocrinology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Dopamine signaling through the D1 subclass of receptors has been shown to facilitate sexual receptivity (i.e., lordosis responses) via progesterone receptors (Mani et al., 1994, 1996; Apostolakis et al., 1996; Auger et al., 1997; Meredith et al., 1998; Mani et al., 2000; Mani, 2001; Auger, 2004). It is thought that phosphorylation of the progesterone receptor underlies dopamine's ability to increase lordosis behavior in the absence of P (Auger et al., 1997; Mani, 2001). The progesterone receptor in vitro can be transcriptionally activated by dopamine, in the absence of its ligand, by phosphorylation of its different serine sites (Denner et al., 1990; Power et al., 1991; Bai et al., 1997).

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    1

    To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed. Fax: (713) 790-1275. E-mail: [email protected].

    View full text