ArticleThe Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience2018
Mast Cells in the Developing Brain Determine Adult Sexual Behavior.
Article in The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
57 citing papers in PubMed, 107 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mast Cells in the Developing Brain.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Neonatal estradiol influences regional gene expression for early sex-specific inflammatory responses in the 5xFAD mouse model.Biology of sex differences · 2026Article
- Review
- Role of Mast Cells and Neuroinflammation in Neuropsychiatric Disorders of the Developmental Period.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Mild pediatric traumatic brain injury has sex-specific effects on neuroimmune cells and social behavior in rats.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Sex differences in neuromodulatory subcortical systems and their implications for Alzheimer's disease.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Review
- Developmental PBDE exposure persistently impairs mast cell function in vivo and drives sex-specific morphological and transcriptional changes in bone marrow-derived mast cells.Environmental research · 2026Article
- Bidirectional Interplay Between Microglia and Mast Cells.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Immune control of brain physiology.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2025Review
- Maternal IgE Influence on Fetal and Infant Health.Immunological reviews · 2025Review
- The maternal-fetal interface at single-cell resolution: uncovering the cellular anatomy of the placenta and decidua.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2025Review
- Mast cells proliferate in the peri-hippocampal space during early development and modulate local and peripheral immune cells.Developmental cell · 2025Article
- Contemporary insights into neuroimmune interactions across development and aging.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Review
- Histaminergic System Activity in the Central Nervous System: The Role in Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disorders.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Histaminergic System and Vestibular Function in Normal and Pathological Conditions.Current neuropharmacology · 2024Review
- Role and mechanisms of mast cells in brain disorders.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Contribution of birds to the study of sexual differentiation of brain and behavior.Hormones and behavior · 2023Article
- Mast cell ontogeny: From fetal development to life-long health and disease.Immunological reviews · 2023Review
- Sex differences in depression: An immunological perspective.Brain research bulletin · 2023Review
- Complex Neuroimmune Involvement in Neurodevelopment: A Mini-Review.Journal of inflammation research · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Many sex differences in brain and behavior are programmed during development by gonadal hormones, but the cellular mechanisms are incompletely understood. We found that immune-system-derived mast cells are a primary target for the masculinizing hormone estradiol and that mast cells are in turn primary mediators of brain sexual differentiation. Newborn male rats had greater numbers and more activated mast cells in the preoptic area (POA), a brain region essential for male copulatory behavior, than female littermates during the critical period for sexual differentiation. Inhibiting mast cells with a stabilizing agent blunted the masculinization of both POA neuronal and microglial morphology and adult sex behavior, whereas activating mast cells in females, even though fewer in number, induced masculinization. Treatment of newborn females with a masculinizing dose of estradiol increased mast cell number and induced mast cells to release histamine, which then stimulated microglia to release prostaglandins and thereby induced male-typical synaptic patterning. These findings identify a novel non-neuronal origin of brain sex differences and resulting motivated behaviors.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.