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. 2006 Jan 4;26(1):51–62. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2939-05.2006

Figure 7.

Figure 7.

The onset of puberty in female rats is accompanied by ME-specific changes in TACE-like activity in the absence of changes in TACE mRNA expression. A, TACE-like activity increases selectively in the ME of peripubertal female rats on the day of the first preovulatory LH surge. *p < 0.05 versus all other groups (n = 7–8 rats per group). B, This increase is not detected in the rest of the hypothalamus. C, Hypothalamic astrocytes respond to preovulatory levels of estradiol (similar to those seen on the day of first proestrus, LP) with increased TACE activity. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 versus basal group; n = 6 wells per group. D, The increase in TACE-like activity in the ME is not accompanied by corresponding changes in mRNA expression. LJ, Late juvenile, prepubertal rats; EP, early proestrus, the phase of puberty when estradiol secretion begins to increase driven by an enhanced pulsatile LH release; LP, late proestrus, this stage corresponds to the first proestrus when the first preovulatory surge of gonadotropins takes place; E, the first estrus, both vaginal opening and the first ovulation takes place on this day; D, the day of the first diestrus, corresponding to the phase of puberty when the first functional corpora lutea are formed. RFU, Relative fluorescence units.