Analysis of the participation of pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) in neurons of the tuberal nucleus (nTU) on sexual behavior and maternal aggression in female mice

• Grant number: 23/04081-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Anatomy
• Principal Investigator: Simone Cristina Motta
• Grantee: Carolina Zerbini
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The tuberal nucleus (nTU) and the ventrolateral portion of the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMHvl) participateof the female sexual and maternal aggression behaviors, which present themselves asantagonistic responses to an unknown male depending on the reproductive phase of the female. Several works have shown that neuronal subtypes in VMHvl, estrogen and progesterone responsive, are related to these circuits, possibly negatively regulated. In the sameline, the nTU, which is a robust source of neuronal inputs of VMHvl, showed differential expression of the geneof pre-opiomelanocortin (POMC) according to the hormonal phase of these animals, when comparingestrus and lactating females. Thus, this project aims to characterize the POMC+ neural pathways of the tuberal nucleus, and investigate its role in the sexual and maternal aggression behaviors infemale mice. In this sense, we propose experiments of neuronal genetic manipulation andneuroanatomical mapping in order to identify the role of POMC-positive cells from nTU on thesebehaviors and characterize their neural circuits and their activation dynamics. (AU)