RUBIN LABORATORY

        Our lab interests are centered in the area of reproductive neuroendocrinology. We are particularly interested in understanding the hypothalamic regulation of female reproductive cyclicity and more specifically, the exquisitely complex control of the preovulatory luteinizing hormone surge that is essential for ovulation. Much of the work in the laboratory has centered on the hypothalamic decapeptide luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) also known as gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). LHRH is the primary hypothalamic signal that regulates gonadotropin synthesis and secretion from the pituitary, and therefore this hypothalamic decapeptide is essential for reproductive fertility. We are interested in further deciphering the multiple mechanisms involved in the regulation of LHRH gene expression, synthesis and secretion as well as those that underlie the functional heterogeneity of the population of LHRH neurons.
        Ongoing studies are focused on the cause of perturbations in LHRH neuronal function with age that result in the loss of the preovulatory LH surge and regular ovulatory cycles. Precise identification of the deficits that contribute to age-related alterations in LHRH neurosecretion will provide valuable insights into the events that modulate LHRH gene expression, biosynthesis, and release in young cycling females, and the nature of the biochemical and anatomical changes that accompany aging of the mammalian brain. Future studies will investigate the potential mechanisms by which age-associated changes at the hypothalamic level may contribute to the well-documented age-associated changes in the ovary, and they will examine the consequences of the acyclic state on hypothalamic and central nervous system function. Other studies in the laboratory are examining the effects of perinatal exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) on reproductive axis function in adulthood. BPA is a widespread environmental contaminant with estrogenic activity. The long-term effects of prenatal and /or perinatal exposure to BPA on LHRH neuronal function are currently under investigation. Future studies will explore the long lasting effects of BPA exposure on the developing brain including potential influences on the neural circuits that regulate behavior.