Estrogen ameliorates microglial activation by inhibiting the Kir2.1 inward-rectifier K(+) channel.

ABSTRACT: Microglial activation is implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Although the etiology of PD remains unclear, age and male gender are known PD risk factors. By comparing microglia and dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) of male and female mice of different ages, we found that the degrees of microglial activation and DA neuron loss increased with age in both genders, but were more pronounced in males, as were peripheral lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced microglial activation and DA neuron loss. A bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) eliminated the female-associated protection against age- and LPS-induced microglial activation, which suggests that ovary hormones are involved in gender-specific responses. Treating female mice with 17β-estradiol supplements reduced

SUBMITTER: Wu SY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4785403 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature