Puberty-affecting synthetic analogs of urinary chemosignals in the house mouse, Mus domesticus

Jemioło, Bożena; Andreolini, Franca; Xie, Tian-Min; Wiesler, Donald; Novotný, Miloš V.

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(89)90270-9

Cited by 79 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…A total of 44 mouse volatiles were detected (Fig. 1B) among which we found pheromones important for social interactions such as 2-heptanone (34) or α-and β-farnesene (35) (Fig. S2).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mouse alarm pheromone shares structural similarity with predator scents

Brechbühl

Moine

Klaey

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

157

234

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Sensing the chemical warnings present in the environment is essential for species survival. In mammals, this form of danger communication occurs via the release of natural predator scents that can involuntarily warn the prey or by the production of alarm pheromones by the stressed prey alerting its conspecifics. Although we previously identified the olfactory Grueneberg ganglion as the sensory organ through which mammalian alarm pheromones signal a threatening situation, the chemical nature of these cues remains elusive. We here identify, through chemical analysis in combination with a series of physiological and behavioral tests, the chemical structure of a mouse alarm pheromone. To successfully recognize the volatile cues that signal danger, we based our selection on their activation of the mouse olfactory Grueneberg ganglion and the concomitant display of innate fear reactions. Interestingly, we found that the chemical structure of the identified mouse alarm pheromone has similar features as the sulfur-containing volatiles that are released by predating carnivores. Our findings thus not only reveal a chemical Leitmotiv that underlies signaling of fear, but also point to a double role for the olfactory Grueneberg ganglion in intraspecies as well as interspecies communication of danger.olfaction | animal communication | behavior | calcium imaging

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“…A total of 44 mouse volatiles were detected (Fig. 1B) among which we found pheromones important for social interactions such as 2-heptanone (34) or α-and β-farnesene (35) (Fig. S2).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mouse alarm pheromone shares structural similarity with predator scents

Brechbühl

Moine

Klaey

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

157

234

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Indeed, urine, like most other social olfactory stimuli, consists of a large number of distinct chemical compounds that vary according to the sex, strain, social and physiological status of the emitter [1,42]. For example, the volatile urinary compound (methylthio) methanethiol (MTMT) has been shown to activate a subset of mitral cells in the MOB, and when added to urine, enhances urine attractiveness to female mice [62].…”

Section: Functional Roles Of Both the Main And The Accessory Olfactormentioning

confidence: 99%

The main and the accessory olfactory systems interact in the control of mate recognition and sexual behavior

Keller

Baum

Brock

et al. 2009

Behavioural Brain Research

147

101

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“…Some previous studies used a behavioral screen, sometimes supplemented by comparative chemical analysis of urine from physiologically different animals (Novotny et al, 1986;Jemiolo et al, 1989;Chamero et al, 2007). However, behavior can depend on a blend of pheromones (Wyatt, 2003), making it difficult to obtain functional data from intermediate fractions of a purification.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sulfated Steroids as Natural Ligands of Mouse Pheromone-Sensing Neurons

Nodari¹,

Hsu²,

Fu³

et al. 2008

Journal of Neuroscience

188

214

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Among mice, pheromones and other social odor cues convey information about sex, social status, and identity; however, the molecular nature of these cues is essentially unknown. To identify these cues, we screened chromatographic fractions of female mouse urine for their ability to cause reproducible firing rate increases in the pheromone-detecting vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs) using multielectrode array (MEA) recording. Active compounds were found to be remarkably homogenous in their basic properties, with most being of low molecular weight, moderate hydrophobicity, low volatility, and possessing a negative electric charge. Purification and structural analysis of active compounds revealed multiple sulfated steroids, of which two were identified as sulfated glucocorticoids, including corticosterone 21-sulfate. Sulfatase-treated urine extracts lost Ͼ80% of their activity, indicating that sulfated compounds are the predominant VSN ligands in female mouse urine. As measured by MEA recording, a collection of 31 synthetic sulfated steroids triggered responses 30-fold more frequently than did a similarly sized stimulus set containing the majority of all previously reported VSN ligands. Collectively, VSNs detected all major classes of sulfated steroids, but individual neurons were sensitive to small variations in chemical structure. VSNs from both males and females detected sulfated steroids, but knock-outs for the sensory transduction channel TRPC2 did not detect these compounds. Urine concentrations of the two sulfated glucocorticoids increased many fold in stressed animals, indicating that information about physiological status is encoded by the urine concentration of particular sulfated steroids. These results provide an unprecedented characterization of the signals available for chemical communication among mice.

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Puberty-affecting synthetic analogs of urinary chemosignals in the house mouse, Mus domesticus

Cited by 79 publications

References 17 publications

Mouse alarm pheromone shares structural similarity with predator scents

Mouse alarm pheromone shares structural similarity with predator scents

The main and the accessory olfactory systems interact in the control of mate recognition and sexual behavior

Sulfated Steroids as Natural Ligands of Mouse Pheromone-Sensing Neurons

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