PMID- 14644637 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20040309 LR - 20191026 IS - 0018-506X (Print) IS - 0018-506X (Linking) VI - 44 IP - 5 DP - 2003 Dec TI - Lack of functional estrogen receptor beta gene disrupts pubertal male sexual behavior. PG - 427-34 AB - The estrogen receptor-beta (ERbeta) mediates estrogen action in the female gonads, reproductive tract, and central nervous system. In addition, in rats and mice, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH-I) neurons coexpress ERbeta. Here we asked if ERbeta plays a role in the onset of puberty and in hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis function in male mice. We examined mating behavior, testosterone concentrations, steroid negative feedback on gonadotropins, and GnRH-I function in male ERbeta knockout (ERbetaKO) and wild-type (WT) mice. Peripubertal ERbetaKO males displayed their first ejaculation at a significantly older age than WT littermates. Castrated, adult ERbetaKO mice had significantly higher plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) than WT counterparts. Estradiol (E2) treatment reduced LH and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) concentrations to an equivalent degree in castrates of both genotypes. In three different measures of the adult GnRH-I system, no genotypic differences were observed. These data show that ERbeta plays an important role in the timing of male sexual behavior at puberty, but does not appear to be involved in adult HPG axis functioning. Furthermore, our data suggest that a primary role of ERbeta may be to regulate ejaculatory behavior. FAU - Temple, Jennifer L AU - Temple JL AD - Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology Section, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD 20892-4156, USA. FAU - Scordalakes, Elka M AU - Scordalakes EM FAU - Bodo, Cristian AU - Bodo C FAU - Gustafsson, Jan Ake AU - Gustafsson JA FAU - Rissman, Emilie F AU - Rissman EF LA - eng GR - K02 MH01349/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States GR - R01 MH57759/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States PT - Comparative Study PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. PT - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. PL - United States TA - Horm Behav JT - Hormones and behavior JID - 0217764 RN - 0 (Estrogen Receptor beta) RN - 0 (Receptors, Estrogen) RN - 33515-09-2 (Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone) RN - 3XMK78S47O (Testosterone) RN - 4TI98Z838E (Estradiol) RN - 9002-67-9 (Luteinizing Hormone) RN - 9002-68-0 (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Ejaculation/genetics/*physiology MH - Estradiol/physiology MH - Estrogen Receptor beta MH - Feedback, Physiological/physiology MH - Follicle Stimulating Hormone/blood MH - Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone/genetics/physiology MH - Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System/*physiology MH - Luteinizing Hormone/blood MH - Male MH - Mice MH - Mice, Inbred C57BL MH - Mice, Knockout MH - Receptors, Estrogen/classification/*genetics MH - Sex Characteristics MH - Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology MH - Testis/physiology MH - Testosterone/blood EDAT- 2003/12/04 05:00 MHDA- 2004/03/10 05:00 CRDT- 2003/12/04 05:00 PHST- 2003/12/04 05:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2004/03/10 05:00 [medline] PHST- 2003/12/04 05:00 [entrez] AID - S0018506X03001697 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2003.09.002 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Horm Behav. 2003 Dec;44(5):427-34. doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2003.09.002.