Rapid actions of oestrogen on gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons; from fantasy to physiology?

摘要

Oestradiol (E2) exerts critical homeostatic feedback effects upon gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons to maintain fertility. In the female, E2 has both negative and positive feedback actions to suppress and stimulate GnRH neuron activity at different times of the ovarian cycle. This review summarizes reported rapid E2 effects on native embryonic and adult GnRH neurons and attempts to put them into a physiological perspective. Oestrogen has been shown to rapidly modulate multiple processes in embryonic and adult GnRH neurons including intracellular calcium levels, electrical activity and specific second messenger pathways, as well as GnRH secretion itself.