Insulin-like growth factor I receptors and estrogen receptors colocalize in female rat brain.

Several findings indicate that there is a close interaction between estrogen and insulin-like growth factor I in different brain regions. In adult brain, both estrogen and insulin-like growth factor I have co-ordinated effects in the regulation of neuroendocrine events, synaptic plasticity and neural response to injury. In this study we have qualitatively assessed whether estrogen receptors and insulin-like growth factor I receptor are colocalized in the same cells in the preoptic area, hypothalamus, hippocampus, cerebral cortex and cerebellum of female rat brain using confocal microscopy. Immunoreactivity for estrogen receptors alpha and beta was colocalized with immunoreactivity for insulin-like growth factor I receptor in many neurons from the preoptic area, hypothalamus, hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Furthermore, estrogen receptor beta and insulin-like growth factor I receptor immunoreactivities were colocalized in the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum. Colocalization of estrogen receptor beta and insulin-like growth factor I receptor was also detected in cells with the morphology of astrocytes in all regions assessed. The co-expression of estrogen receptors and insulin-like growth factor I receptor in the same neurons may allow a cross-coupling of their signaling pathways. Furthermore, the colocalization of immunoreactivity for estrogen receptor beta and insulin-like growth factor I receptor in glial cells suggests that glia may also play a role in the interactions of insulin-like growth factor I and estrogen in the rat brain. In conclusion, the co-expression of estrogen receptors and insulin-like growth factor I receptors in the same neural cells suggests that the co-ordinated actions of estrogen and insulin-like growth factor I in the brain may be integrated at the cellular level.