The ventrolateral hypothalamus (VLH) in female guinea pigs includes a subset of neurons which contain estrogen and progestin receptors, and which are implicated in the regulation of female sexual behavior by steroid hormones. However, little is known about where these neurons project, and consequently which other brain areas are involved in sexual behavior in female guinea pigs. The anterograde...

The environmental loading of steroid hormones contained in dairy wastes may cause an adverse effect on aquatic species. To better assess the potential risks of hormone contamination resulting from land application of dairy wastes, various steroid hormones were determined in a typical dairy waste disposal system. Quantitative methods using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were develo...

Sexual behaviors in green anoles are regulated by steroid hormones. Androgens activate the display of masculine courtship and copulatory behaviors, and estradiol activates feminine receptivity. Testosterone can also facilitate receptivity in females. The present study was conducted to test the role of converting testosterone to estradiol (aromatization) in the regulation of sexual and aggressiv...

Background Nitric oxide (NO) that plays important role in all sexual activities of animals is made from the amino acid L-arginine by the enzymatic action of NO synthase (NOS). NO makes a band with sulfur-iron complexes, but due to production of steroid sexual hormones related to the enzymes involved in this complex, NO can change the activity of these enzymes. NO affects many cells including ve...

Altricial and precocial species follow different developmental trajectories possibly reflecting different reproductive strategies. This chapter describes evidence that this distinction may have heuristic value in understanding the nature of steroidal influences on masculinization and defeminization. Across both types of mammals, defeminization was found to utilize estrogenic metabolites of andr...

Introduction. Data concerning the physiology of desire, arousal, and orgasm in women are limited because of ethical constraints. Aim. To gain knowledge of physiology of female sexual function through animal models. Methods. To provide state-of-the-art knowledge concerning female sexual function in animal models, representing the opinions of seven experts from five countries developed in a conse...

Chst10 adds sulfate to glucuronic acid to form a carbohydrate antigen, HNK-1, in glycoproteins and glycolipids. To determine the role of Chst10 in vivo, we generated systemic Chst10-deficient mutant mice. Although Chst10(-/-) mice were born and grew to adulthood with no gross defects, they were subfertile. Uteri from Chst10(-/-) females at the pro-estrus stage were larger than those from wild-t...

Vertebrates indicate their genetic sex to conspecifics using secondary sexual signals, and signal expression is often activated by sex hormones. Among vertebrate signaling modalities, the least is known about how hormones influence chemical signaling. Our study species, the red-sided garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis), is a model vertebrate for studying hormonal control of chemical s...

The effects of soybean isoflavones with or without probiotics on tissue fat deposition, plasma cholesterol, and steroid and thyroid hormones were studied in SHR/N-cp rats, an animal model of obesity, and were compared to lean phenotype. We tested the hypothesis that probiotics by promoting the conversion of isoflavone glycosides to their metabolically active aglycone form will have a synergisti...

Steroid hormones are generally thought to pass easily across a plasma membrane into a cell, interacting once inside with soluble nuclear receptors, but recent experiments have demonstrated the importance of membrane-bound receptors in mediating the activity and the metabolism of steroid hormones.