Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology

ea0014s14.1 | Trojan horses for steroids | ECE2007

Alpha-fetoprotein protects the developing female brain from estrogens

Bakker Julie , De Mees Christelle , Balthazart Jacques , Szpirer Claude

The classic view of sexual differentiation in mammalian species holds that sex differences in the brain and behavior develop under the influence of estrogens derived from the neural aromatization of testosterone: the brain develops as male in the presence of estrogens and as female in their absence. In agreement with this view, it has been proposed that the female brain needs to be protected from estrogens produced by the placenta and that alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) - a major fet...