Role of progesterone and its intracellular receptors in the sexual behavior of female rodents
Angélica Coyoy, Chemistry Faculty, Department of Biology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, D.F., Mexico
Ignacio Camacho-Arroyo, Unit for Investigation in Human Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología-Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico, D.F., Mexico
Christian Guerra-Araiza, Medical Research Unit of Pharmacology, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Mexico, D.F., Mexico
Studies of the processes that regulate female sexual behavior in rodents indicate that progesterone plays a key role in the display of such behavior. These studies include the action of progesterone and its metabolites, the characteristics of the expression and distribution of intracellular progesterone receptor isoforms in brain regions involved in sexual behavior, synthesis, turnover and activation of progesterone receptor, and intercommunication between genomic and non-genomic signals mediated by progesterone. In this review, some characteristics of these elements involved in female sexual behavior in rodents are addressed.
Palabras clave: Progesterone. Progesterone receptor. Female sexual behavior. Central nervous system.
