PMID- 22645509
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
DCOM- 20120823
LR  - 20211021
IS  - 1664-2392 (Electronic)
IS  - 1664-2392 (Linking)
VI  - 2
DP  - 2011
TI  - Neurosteroid biosynthesis and function in the brain of domestic birds.
PG  - 37
LID - 10.3389/fendo.2011.00037 [doi]
LID - 37
AB  - It is now established that the brain and other nervous systems have the 
      capability of forming steroids de novo, the so-called "neurosteroids." The 
      pioneering discovery of Baulieu and his colleagues, using rodents, has opened the 
      door to a new research field of "neurosteroids." In contrast to mammalian 
      vertebrates, little has been known regarding de novo neurosteroidogenesis in the 
      brain of birds. We therefore investigated neurosteroid formation and metabolism 
      in the brain of quail, a domestic bird. Our studies over the past two decades 
      demonstrated that the quail brain possesses cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage 
      enzyme (P450scc), 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Delta(5)-Delta(4)-isomerase (3beta-HSD), 
      5beta-reductase, cytochrome P450 17alpha-hydroxylase/c17,20-lyase (P450(17alpha,lyase)), 
      17beta-HSD, etc., and produces pregnenolone, progesterone, 5beta-dihydroprogesterone 
      (5beta-DHP), 3beta, 5beta-tetrahydroprogesterone (3beta, 5beta-THP), androstenedione, 
      testosterone, and estradiol from cholesterol. Independently, Schlinger's 
      laboratory demonstrated that the brain of zebra finch, a songbird, also produces 
      various neurosteroids. Thus, the formation and metabolism of neurosteroids from 
      cholesterol is now known to occur in the brain of birds. In addition, we recently 
      found that the quail brain expresses cytochrome P450(7alpha) and produces 7alpha- and 
      7beta-hydroxypregnenolone, previously undescribed avian neurosteroids, from 
      pregnenolone. This paper summarizes the advances made in our understanding of 
      neurosteroid formation and metabolism in the brain of domestic birds. This paper 
      also describes what are currently known about physiological changes in 
      neurosteroid formation and biological functions of neurosteroids in the brain of 
      domestic and other birds.
FAU - Tsutsui, Kazuyoshi
AU  - Tsutsui K
AD  - Laboratory of Integrative Brain Sciences, Department of Biology, Waseda 
      University, and Center for Medical Life Science of Waseda University Shinjuku-ku, 
      Tokyo, Japan.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20110921
PL  - Switzerland
TA  - Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)
JT  - Frontiers in endocrinology
JID - 101555782
PMC - PMC3355851
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - brain
OT  - domestic birds
OT  - neurosteroid function
OT  - neurosteroidogenesis
OT  - neurosteroids
OT  - quail
OT  - steroidogenic enzymes
EDAT- 2011/01/01 00:00
MHDA- 2011/01/01 00:01
PMCR- 2011/01/01
CRDT- 2012/05/31 06:00
PHST- 2011/05/14 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2011/09/05 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2012/05/31 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2011/01/01 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2011/01/01 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 2011/01/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.3389/fendo.2011.00037 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2011 Sep 21;2:37. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2011.00037. 
      eCollection 2011.