F1000Prime Recommendation of [Mohsen Z et al., Brain Struct Funct 2017]

The different hypothalamic control of mammalian reproductive functions between the two sexes is still matter of investigation. In this study, a new mouse model, expressing Cre recombinase driven by the Prokr2 promoter, has been generated to better specify the distribution of Prokr2 neurons in brain. The PROKR2 gene has been implicated in the control of development and function of GnRH neurons and in the pathogenesis of Kallmann's disease. A comparative analysis revealed a sexually dimorphic distribution of Prokr2-Cre expression in mouse brains. In females, higher Cre activity was found in known sexually dimorphic regions as the medial preoptic area, ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, arcuate nucleus, medial amygdala and lateral parabrachial nucleus. In males, Cre activity was higher in the amygdalo-hippocampal area. These interesting results suggest a different role of brain Prokr2 in male and females. Even if Prok2/Prokr2 system is implicated in several physiological functions, its sexual dependency is of particular interest in the control of reproductive functions. The animal model described by the study will be useful to start the investigation of some new hypothalamic mechanisms that could explain the different activity of GnRH neurons in males and females.