Opposite sex housing enhances reproductive function and induces transcriptional changes in the preoptic area of GnRH-deficient mice.

ABSTRACT: Sexual interactions have previously been shown to improve reproductive health through unknown mechanisms. In this study, we used RNA-Seq to examine sex-induced gene expression changes in the preoptic area (POA), a critical reproductive brain region. Using a mouse model defective in fibroblast growth factor signaling (dnFGFR mouse), previously shown to disrupt the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) system, we examined the impact of opposite sex (OS) housing on gene expression in the POA of a reproductively compromised animal. Bulk RNA-Seq followed by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were used to analyze changes in gene expression and biological processes in control and dnFGFR mice after 300 days of cohabitation with a same sex or OS partner. OS housing of dnFGFR mice, but not control

SUBMITTER: Akonom TN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12037384 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature