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The role of sex and sex Hormones in Neurodegenerative Diseases Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/edrv/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/endrev/bnz005/5572525 by Università degli Studi di Milano user on 24 September 2019 September on 24 user Milano di Studi degli by Università https://academic.oup.com/edrv/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/endrev/bnz005/5572525 from Downloaded Elisabetta Vegeto, Alessandro Villa, Sara Della Torre, Valeria Crippa, Paola Rusmini, Riccardo Cristofani, Mariarita Galbiati, Adriana Maggi*, Angelo Poletti* Department of Excellence of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences and Center of Excellence on Neurodegenerative Diseases Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy Key terms: Sex Hormones, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy *These Authors equally contributed to this manuscript Corresponding author's contact information: Angelo Poletti, PhD - Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Center of Excellence on Neurodegenerative Diseases. Università degli Studi di Milano, via Balzaretti 9, 20133, Milan, Italy. Ph. +390250318215; Fax +390250318204; e-mail [email protected] Disclosure statement. The Authors have no item to disclose Grants: National Institute of Health Grant RO1AG027713; European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 278850 (INMiND); Fondazione Cariplo, Italy (2011-0591, 2014-0686 and 2017_0747); Fondazione Telethon, Italy (n. GGP14039, GGP19218); Fondazione AriSLA, Italy (ALS_HSPB8, ALS_Granulopathy, MLOpathy, Target_RAN), Italian Ministry of Health (n. GR-2011-02347198), Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco (AIFA) (Co_ALS), Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR), PRIN - Progetti di ricerca di interesse nazionale (n. 2015LFPNMN and 2017F2A2C5), MIUR progetto di eccellenza, Fondo per il Finanziamento delle Attività Base di Ricerca (FFABR-MIUR), Fondazione Regionale per la RicercaAccepted Biomedica (FRRB) (Regione Lombardia, Manuscript TRANS_ALS, project nr. 2015-0023), Università degli Studi di Milano e piano di sviluppo UNIMI - linea B, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) short term fellowship (n. 537 – 2015); EU Joint Programme - Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) project European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 643417 (Grant ID: 01ED1601A, CureALS). © Endocrine Society 2019. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected] Abstract Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/edrv/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/endrev/bnz005/5572525 by Università degli Studi di Milano user on 24 September 2019 September on 24 user Milano di Studi degli by Università https://academic.oup.com/edrv/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/endrev/bnz005/5572525 from Downloaded Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are a wide class of disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) with still unknown etiology. Several factors were hypothesized to be involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases including genetic and environmental factors. Many of these diseases show a sex prevalence and sex steroids where shown to have a role in the progression of specific forms of neurodegeneration. Estrogens were reported to be neuroprotective though their action on cognate nuclear and membrane receptors, while adverse effects of male hormones have been described on neuronal cells, although some data also suggest neuroprotective activities. The response of the CNS to sex steroids is a complex and integrated process that depends on: i.) the type and amount of the cognate steroid receptor; ii.) the target cell-type, either neurons, glia or microglia. Moreover, the levels of sex steroids in the CNS fluctuate due to gonadal activities and to local metabolism and synthesis. Importantly, biochemical processes involved in the pathogenesis of NDs are increasingly being recognized different among the two sexes and to be influenced by sex steroids. The aim of this review is to present current state-of-the-art understanding on the potential role of sex steroids and their receptors on the onset and progression of major neurodegenerative disorders, namely Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s diseases, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and the peculiar motoneuronAccepted disease Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Manuscript Atrophy, in which hormonal therapy is potentially useful as disease modifier. 2 Essential Points Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/edrv/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/endrev/bnz005/5572525 by Università degli Studi di Milano user on 24 September 2019 September on 24 user Milano di Studi degli by Università https://academic.oup.com/edrv/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/endrev/bnz005/5572525 from Downloaded ñ Human neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by sex differences in term of onset, progression of disease, but current knowledge does not allow to precisely define the sex-related factors intervening in these diseases. ñ Epidemiological and clinical studies linked the sex-specific synthesis of sex steroids to disease risk prevalence and incidence, but considering the hormonal pervasive effects on sexual differentiation and on brain development or functions, their sex specific influence in neurodegeneration remains obscure. ñ The role played by sex steroids into functionally priming male and female brains also remains elusive thus impairing our ability to understand the extent to which brain embryonal sex differentiation may be associated with the development of a sex-specific vulnerability to neuronal death in adulthood. ñ Present state-of-the-art knowledge does not allow to definitely point to sex steroids as a direct or indirect components for protective or detrimental activities in these diseases. ñ The complexity of sex steroid physiological functions, the number of neural cells potentially involved, epigenetic as well as environmental factors have impaired the understanding of the role of sex on neurodegeneration so far. ñ Here we provide a wide and in depth analysis of the role of sex in in four common neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s diseases, Amyotrophic lateral Sclerosis and Spinobulbar Muscular Atrophy because all showing a sex- specific incidence and progression. ñ Our effort is aimed at facilitating the identification of all aspects that in these disorders associate sex and disease manifestation at both pre-clinical and clinical level, hoping to enable a progress in this field and underline potential ways where appropriate regulation of circulating hormones may provide benefits in these disorders where we suffer a unique lack of positive therapeutic intervention. Accepted Manuscript 3 INDEX Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/edrv/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/endrev/bnz005/5572525 by Università degli Studi di Milano user on 24 September 2019 September on 24 user Milano di Studi degli by Università https://academic.oup.com/edrv/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/endrev/bnz005/5572525 from Downloaded 1. Introduction 2. The influence of sex on Neurodegenerative Diseases a. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD): the pathogenesis i. Pathogenic mechanisms in familiar and sporadic AD ii. Non-neuronal cells in AD iii. Sex difference in AD b. Parkinson’s disease (PD): the pathogenesis i. Common pathogenic mechanisms in genetic and idiopathic PD. ii. Non-neuronal cells involved in PD iii. Sex differences in PD c. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): the pathogenesis i. Sporadic versus familial forms of ALS ii. Non-neuronal cells involved in ALS iii. Sex differences in ALS iv. The neuroinflammatory response in ALS affected regions and its possible correlation with gender differences d. The peculiar case of Spinal and Bulbar Muscular Atrophy (SBMA) i. A mutation of Androgen Receptor, the molecular basis of the disease ii. Non-neuronal cells in SBMA 3. Sex steroids in the mammalian nervous system a. Morpho-functional differences between male and female brains b. The essential role of sex steroids in brain sexual differentiation c. Brain expression of steroid receptors as mediators of sex hormone activities i. Sex hormone receptors ii. Sex hormone receptors distribution in the brain. d. Neurosteroids and neuroactive steroids i. Local activation and de novo synthesis of steroids in the brain. e. Sex steroid effects on neural cells f. Predicting the activity of male sex hormones in the nervous systems 4. The influence of Sex hormones in Neurodegenerative diseases a. Sex hormones and AD i. Estrogen and AD ii. Estrogen decreases Ab accumulation iii. Estrogen effects on lipid metabolism iv. Progesterone and AD Acceptedv. Female hormone replacement Manuscript therapy and AD vi. Role of male sex steroids in AD b. Sex hormones and PD i. Estrogens, NSDA and PD ii. Estrogens in animal models of PD iii. Progesterone and PD. iv. Androgens, NSDA and PD v. Sex steroid hormones and pathogenic mechanisms of PD c. Sex hormones and ALS 4 i. Sex-related molecular and biochemical alterations occurring in ALS: the role of sex steroids 2019 September on 24 user Milano di Studi degli by Università https://academic.oup.com/edrv/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1210/endrev/bnz005/5572525 from Downloaded ii. Male sex steroids iii. Female sex steroids iv. Neuroprotective activity of progesterone and estrogens v. Estrogens and neuroinflammation in ALS vi. Metabolic disorders and ALS vii. Sex hormones, autophagy and proteasomal regulation d. The case of SBMA i. The role of