Sex differences in microRNA-mRNA networks: examination of novel epigenetic programming mechanisms in the sexually dimorphic neonatal hypothalamus

摘要

BackgroundSexual differentiation of the male brain, and specifically the stress circuitry in the hypothalamus, is primarily driven by estrogen exposure during the perinatal period. Surprisingly, this single hormone promotes diverse programs of sex-specific development that vary widely between different cell types and across the developing male brain. The complexity of this phenomenon suggests that additional layers of gene regulation, including microRNAs (miRNAs), must act downstream of estrogen to mediate this specificity.