1
|
Janssenswillen S, Roelants K, Carpentier S, de Rooster H, Metzemaekers M, Vanschoenwinkel B, Proost P, Bossuyt F. Odorant-binding proteins in canine anal sac glands indicate an evolutionarily conserved role in mammalian chemical communication. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:182. [PMID: 34565329 PMCID: PMC8474896 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01910-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Chemical communication is an important aspect of the behavioural ecology of a wide range of mammals. In dogs and other carnivores, anal sac glands are thought to convey information to conspecifics by secreting a pallet of small volatile molecules produced by symbiotic bacteria. Because these glands are unique to carnivores, it is unclear how their secretions relate to those of other placental mammals that make use of different tissues and secretions for chemical communication. Here we analyse the anal sac glands of domestic dogs to verify the secretion of proteins and infer their evolutionary relationship to those involved in the chemical communication of non-carnivoran mammals. Results Proteomic analysis of anal sac gland secretions of 17 dogs revealed the consistently abundant presence of three related proteins. Homology searches against online databases indicate that these proteins are evolutionary related to ‘odorant binding proteins’ (OBPs) found in a wide range of mammalian secretions and known to contribute to chemical communication. Screening of the dog’s genome sequence show that the newly discovered OBPs are encoded by a single cluster of three genes in the pseudoautosomal region of the X-chromosome. Comparative genomic screening indicates that the same locus is shared by a wide range of placental mammals and that it originated at least before the radiation of extant placental orders. Phylogenetic analyses suggest a dynamic evolution of gene duplication and loss, resulting in large gene clusters in some placental taxa and recurrent loss of this locus in others. The homology of OBPs in canid anal sac glands and those found in other mammalian secretions implies that these proteins maintained a function in chemical communication throughout mammalian evolutionary history by multiple shifts in expression between secretory tissues involved in signal release and nasal mucosa involved in signal reception. Conclusions Our study elucidates a poorly understood part of the biology of a species that lives in close association with humans. In addition, it shows that the protein repertoire underlying chemical communication in mammals is more evolutionarily stable than the variation of involved glands and tissues would suggest. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12862-021-01910-w.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sunita Janssenswillen
- Amphibian Evolution Lab, Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Kim Roelants
- Amphibian Evolution Lab, Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Sebastien Carpentier
- Proteomics Core - SyBioMa, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Herestraat 49 - 03.313, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hilde de Rooster
- Small Animal Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, 9820, Merelbeke, Belgium
| | - Mieke Metzemaekers
- Rega Institute, Molecular Immunology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Herestraat 49 - Bus1042, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bram Vanschoenwinkel
- Community Ecology Lab, Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.,Center for Environmental Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, 9030, South Africa
| | - Paul Proost
- Rega Institute, Molecular Immunology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Herestraat 49 - Bus1042, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Franky Bossuyt
- Amphibian Evolution Lab, Biology Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Sullivan DA, Rocha EM, Aragona P, Clayton JA, Ding J, Golebiowski B, Hampel U, McDermott AM, Schaumberg DA, Srinivasan S, Versura P, Willcox MDP. TFOS DEWS II Sex, Gender, and Hormones Report. Ocul Surf 2017; 15:284-333. [PMID: 28736336 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtos.2017.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 236] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2017] [Accepted: 04/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
One of the most compelling features of dry eye disease (DED) is that it occurs more frequently in women than men. In fact, the female sex is a significant risk factor for the development of DED. This sex-related difference in DED prevalence is attributed in large part to the effects of sex steroids (e.g. androgens, estrogens), hypothalamic-pituitary hormones, glucocorticoids, insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1 and thyroid hormones, as well as to the sex chromosome complement, sex-specific autosomal factors and epigenetics (e.g. microRNAs). In addition to sex, gender also appears to be a risk factor for DED. "Gender" and "sex" are words that are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. "Gender" refers to a person's self-representation as a man or woman, whereas "sex" distinguishes males and females based on their biological characteristics. Both gender and sex affect DED risk, presentation of the disease, immune responses, pain, care-seeking behaviors, service utilization, and myriad other facets of eye health. Overall, sex, gender and hormones play a major role in the regulation of ocular surface and adnexal tissues, and in the difference in DED prevalence between women and men. The purpose of this Subcommittee report is to review and critique the nature of this role, as well as to recommend areas for future research to advance our understanding of the interrelationships between sex, gender, hormones and DED.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David A Sullivan
- Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Eduardo M Rocha
- Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Pasquale Aragona
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ocular Surface Diseases Unit, University of Messina, Messina, Sicily, Italy
| | - Janine A Clayton
- National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women's Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Juan Ding
- Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye & Ear, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Blanka Golebiowski
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Ulrike Hampel
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Alison M McDermott
- The Ocular Surface Institute, College of Optometry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Debra A Schaumberg
- Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA; University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Sruthi Srinivasan
- Centre for Contact Lens Research, School of Optometry, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Piera Versura
- Department of Specialized, Experimental, and Diagnostic Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Mark D P Willcox
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Stopkova R, Klempt P, Kuntova B, Stopka P. On the tear proteome of the house mouse ( Mus musculus musculus) in relation to chemical signalling. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3541. [PMID: 28698824 PMCID: PMC5502090 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2017] [Accepted: 06/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammalian tears are produced by lacrimal glands to protect eyes and may function in chemical communication and immunity. Recent studies on the house mouse chemical signalling revealed that major urinary proteins (MUPs) are not individually unique in Mus musculus musculus. This fact stimulated us to look for other sexually dimorphic proteins that may—in combination with MUPs—contribute to a pool of chemical signals in tears. MUPs and other lipocalins including odorant binding proteins (OBPs) have the capacity to selectively transport volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in their eight-stranded beta barrel, thus we have generated the tear proteome of the house mouse to detect a wider pool of proteins that may be involved in chemical signalling. We have detected significant male-biased (7.8%) and female-biased (7%) proteins in tears. Those proteins that showed the most elevated sexual dimorphisms were highly expressed and belong to MUP, OBP, ESP (i.e., exocrine gland-secreted peptides), and SCGB/ABP (i.e., secretoglobin) families. Thus, tears may have the potential to elicit sex-specific signals in combination by different proteins. Some tear lipocalins are not sexually dimorphic—with MUP20/darcin and OBP6 being good examples—and because all proteins may flow with tears through nasolacrimal ducts to nasal and oral cavities we suggest that their roles are wider than originally thought. Also, we have also detected several sexually dimorphic bactericidal proteins, thus further supporting an idea that males and females may have adopted alternative strategies in controlling microbiota thus yielding different VOC profiles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Romana Stopkova
- BIOCEV group, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Klempt
- BIOCEV group, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Barbora Kuntova
- BIOCEV group, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Stopka
- BIOCEV group, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Rahimi Darabad R, Suzuki T, Richards SM, Jakobiec FA, Zakka FR, Barabino S, Sullivan DA. Does estrogen deficiency cause lacrimal gland inflammation and aqueous-deficient dry eye in mice? Exp Eye Res 2014; 127:153-60. [PMID: 25084452 DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2014.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2014] [Revised: 07/17/2014] [Accepted: 07/21/2014] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Researchers have proposed that estrogen deficiency will lead to a Sjögren's syndrome (SjS)-like lacrimal gland inflammation, aqueous tear deficiency and dry eye. The purpose of this study was to determine whether this proposal is correct. Lacrimal glands were obtained from adult, age-matched wild type (WT) and aromatase knockout (ArKO) mice, in which estrogen synthesis is completely eliminated. Tissues were also obtained from autoimmune MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr (MRL/lpr) mice as inflammation controls. Tear volumes in WT and ArKO mice were measured and glands were processed for molecular biological and histological evaluation. Our results demonstrate that estrogen absence does not lead to a SjS-like inflammation in lacrimal tissue or to an aqueous-deficient dry eye. There was no upregulation of genes associated with inflammatory pathways in lacrimal glands of male or female ArKO mice. Such inflammatory activity was prominent in autoimmune MRL/lpr tissues. We also found no evidence of inflammation in lacrimal gland tissue sections of estrogen-deficient mice, and tear volumes of ArKO males were actually increased as compared to those WT controls. Interestingly, our study did show that estrogen absence influences the expression of thousands of lacrimal gland genes, and that this impact is sex- and genotype-specific. Our findings demonstrate that estrogen absence is not a risk factor for the development of SjS-like lacrimal gland inflammation or for aqueous-deficient dry eye in mice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Raheleh Rahimi Darabad
- Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tomo Suzuki
- Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Stephen M Richards
- Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Frederick A Jakobiec
- Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Fouad R Zakka
- Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Stefano Barabino
- Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - David A Sullivan
- Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Poddar-Sarkar M, Raha P, Bhar R, Chakraborty A, Brahmachary RL. Ultrastructure and lipid chemistry of specialized epidermal structure of Indian porcupines and hedgehog. ACTA ZOOL-STOCKHOLM 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1463-6395.2010.00452.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
6
|
Stopková R, Zdráhal Z, Ryba S, Sedo O, Sandera M, Stopka P. Novel OBP genes similar to hamster Aphrodisin in the bank vole, Myodes glareolus. BMC Genomics 2010; 11:45. [PMID: 20085627 PMCID: PMC2824723 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-11-45] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2009] [Accepted: 01/19/2010] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Chemical communication in mammals involves globular lipocalins that protect and transport pheromones during their passage out of the body. Efficient communication via this protein - pheromone complex is essential for triggering multiple responses including aggression, mate choice, copulatory behaviour, and onset and synchronization of oestrus. The roles of lipocalins in communication were studied in many organisms and especially in mice (i.e. Mus musculus domesticus) which excrete Major Urinary Proteins (Mup) in excessive amounts in saliva and urine. Other mammals, however, often lack the genes for Mups or their expression is very low. Therefore, we aimed at characterization of candidate lipocalins in Myodes glareolus which are potentially linked to chemical communication. One of them is Aphrodisin which is a unique lipocalin that was previously described from hamster vaginal discharge and is known to carry pheromones stimulating copulatory behaviour in males. Results Here we show that Aphrodisin-like proteins exist in other species, belong to a group of Odorant Binding Proteins (Obp), and contrary to the expression of Aphrodisin only in hamster genital tract and parotid glands of females, we have detected these transcripts in both sexes of M. glareolus with the expression confirmed in various tissues including prostate, prepucial and salivary glands, liver and uterus. On the level of mRNA, we have detected three different gene variants. To assess their relevance for chemical communication we investigated the occurrence of particular proteins in saliva, urine and vaginal discharge. On the protein level we confirmed the presence of Obp2 and Obp3 in both saliva and urine. Appropriate bands in the range of 17-20 kDa from vaginal discharge were, however, beyond the MS detection limits. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that three novel Obps (Obp1, Obp2, and Obp3) are predominant lipocalins in Myodes urine and saliva. On the protein level we have detected further variants and thus we assume that similarly as Major Urinary Proteins in mice, these proteins may be important in chemical communication in this Cricetid rodent.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Romana Stopková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, CZ-128 44, Czech Republic
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|