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Ruiz-Rubio S, Ortiz-Leal I, Torres MV, Somoano A, Sanchez-Quinteiro P. Do fossorial water voles have a functional vomeronasal organ? A histological and immunohistochemical study. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2024; 307:2912-2932. [PMID: 38112130 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
The fossorial water vole, Arvicola scherman, is an herbivorous rodent that causes significant agricultural damages. The application of cairomones and alarm pheromones emerges as a promising sustainable method to improve its integrated management. These chemical signals would induce stress responses that could interfere with the species regular reproductive cycles and induce aversive reactions, steering them away from farmlands and meadows. However, there is a paucity of information regarding the water vole vomeronasal system, both in its morphological foundations and its functionality, making it imperative to understand the same for the application of chemical communication in pest control. This study fills the existing gaps in knowledge through a morphological and immunohistochemical analysis of the fossorial water vole vomeronasal organ. The study is primarily microscopic, employing two approaches: histological, using serial sections stained with various dyes (hematoxylin-eosin, Periodic acid-Schiff, Alcian blue, Nissl), and immunohistochemical, applying various markers that provide morphofunctional and structural information. These procedures have confirmed the presence of a functional vomeronasal system in fossorial water voles, characterized by a high degree of differentiation and a significant expression of cellular markers indicative of active chemical communication in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Ruiz-Rubio
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Irene Ortiz-Leal
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Mateo V Torres
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Aitor Somoano
- Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario (SERIDA), Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain
| | - Pablo Sanchez-Quinteiro
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
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Ortiz-Leal I, Torres MV, López-Beceiro A, Fidalgo L, Shin T, Sanchez-Quinteiro P. First Immunohistochemical Demonstration of the Expression of a Type-2 Vomeronasal Receptor, V2R2, in Wild Canids. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:7291. [PMID: 39000398 PMCID: PMC11241633 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25137291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2024] [Revised: 06/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The mammalian vomeronasal system enables the perception of chemical signals crucial for social communication via the receptor families V1R and V2R. These receptors are linked with the G-protein subunits, Gαi2 and Gαo, respectively. Exploring the evolutionary pathways of V1Rs and V2Rs across mammalian species remains a significant challenge, particularly when comparing genomic data with emerging immunohistochemical evidence. Recent studies have revealed the expression of Gαo in the vomeronasal neuroepithelium of wild canids, including wolves and foxes, contradicting predictions based on current genomic annotations. Our study provides detailed immunohistochemical evidence, mapping the expression of V2R receptors in the vomeronasal sensory epithelium, focusing particularly on wild canids, specifically wolves and foxes. An additional objective involves contrasting these findings with those from domestic species like dogs to highlight the evolutionary impacts of domestication on sensory systems. The employment of a specific antibody raised against the mouse V2R2, a member of the C-family of vomeronasal receptors, V2Rs, has confirmed the presence of V2R2-immunoreactivity (V2R2-ir) in the fox and wolf, but it has revealed the lack of expression in the dog. This may reflect the impact of domestication on the regression of the VNS in this species, in contrast to their wild counterparts, and it underscores the effects of artificial selection on sensory functions. Thus, these findings suggest a more refined chemical detection capability in wild species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Ortiz-Leal
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Av. Carballo Calero s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain
| | - Mateo V Torres
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Av. Carballo Calero s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain
| | - Ana López-Beceiro
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Av. Carballo Calero s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain
| | - Luis Fidalgo
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Av. Carballo Calero s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain
| | - Taekyun Shin
- College of Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Medical Research Institute, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Republic of Korea
| | - Pablo Sanchez-Quinteiro
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Av. Carballo Calero s/n, 27002 Lugo, Spain
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Torres MV, Ortiz-Leal I, Ferreiro A, Rois JL, Sanchez-Quinteiro P. Immunohistological study of the unexplored vomeronasal organ of an endangered mammal, the dama gazelle (Nanger dama). Microsc Res Tech 2023; 86:1206-1233. [PMID: 37494657 DOI: 10.1002/jemt.24392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Dama gazelle is a threatened and rarely studied species found primarily in northern Africa. Human pressure has depleted the dama gazelle population from tens of thousands to a few hundred individuals. Since 1970, a founder population consisting of the last 17 surviving individuals in Western Sahara has been maintained in captivity, reproducing naturally. In preparation for the future implementation of assisted reproductive technology, certain aspects of dama gazelle reproductive biology have been established. However, the role played by semiochemical-mediated communications in the sexual behavior of dama gazelle remains unknown due partially to a lack of a neuroanatomical or morphofunctional characterization of the dama gazelle vomeronasal organ (VNO), which is the sensory organ responsible for pheromone processing. The present study characterized the dama gazelle VNO, which appears fully equipped to perform neurosensory functions, contributing to current understanding of interspecies VNO variability among ruminants. By employing histological, lectin-histochemical, and immunohistochemical techniques, we conducted a detailed morphofunctional evaluation of the dama gazelle VNO along its entire longitudinal axis. Our findings of significant structural and neurochemical transformation along the entire VNO suggest that future studies of the VNO should take a similar approach. The present study contributes to current understanding of dama gazelle VNO, providing a basis for future studies of semiochemical-mediated communications and reproductive management in this species. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This exhaustive immunohistological study of the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of the dama gazelle provides the first evidence of notable differences in the expression of neuronal markers along the rostrocaudal axis of the VNO. This provides a morphological basis for the implementation of pheromones in captive populations of dama gazelle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateo V Torres
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Irene Ortiz-Leal
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | | | | | - Pablo Sanchez-Quinteiro
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
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4
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Perniss A, Boonen B, Tonack S, Thiel M, Poharkar K, Alnouri MW, Keshavarz M, Papadakis T, Wiegand S, Pfeil U, Richter K, Althaus M, Oberwinkler J, Schütz B, Boehm U, Offermanns S, Leinders-Zufall T, Zufall F, Kummer W. A succinate/SUCNR1-brush cell defense program in the tracheal epithelium. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg8842. [PMID: 37531421 PMCID: PMC10396310 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg8842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Host-derived succinate accumulates in the airways during bacterial infection. Here, we show that luminal succinate activates murine tracheal brush (tuft) cells through a signaling cascade involving the succinate receptor 1 (SUCNR1), phospholipase Cβ2, and the cation channel transient receptor potential channel subfamily M member 5 (TRPM5). Stimulated brush cells then trigger a long-range Ca2+ wave spreading radially over the tracheal epithelium through a sequential signaling process. First, brush cells release acetylcholine, which excites nearby cells via muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. From there, the Ca2+ wave propagates through gap junction signaling, reaching also distant ciliated and secretory cells. These effector cells translate activation into enhanced ciliary activity and Cl- secretion, which are synergistic in boosting mucociliary clearance, the major innate defense mechanism of the airways. Our data establish tracheal brush cells as a central hub in triggering a global epithelial defense program in response to a danger-associated metabolite.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Perniss
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, German Center for Lung Research, Justus Liebig University Giessen; Giessen, Germany
- Excellence Cluster The Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Brett Boonen
- Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
- Laboratory of Ion Channel Research, VIB Center for Brain and Disease, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sarah Tonack
- Department of Pharmacology, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Moritz Thiel
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, German Center for Lung Research, Justus Liebig University Giessen; Giessen, Germany
- Excellence Cluster The Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Krupali Poharkar
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, German Center for Lung Research, Justus Liebig University Giessen; Giessen, Germany
- Excellence Cluster The Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Mohamad Wessam Alnouri
- Department of Pharmacology, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Maryam Keshavarz
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, German Center for Lung Research, Justus Liebig University Giessen; Giessen, Germany
- Excellence Cluster The Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Tamara Papadakis
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, German Center for Lung Research, Justus Liebig University Giessen; Giessen, Germany
- Excellence Cluster The Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Silke Wiegand
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, German Center for Lung Research, Justus Liebig University Giessen; Giessen, Germany
- Excellence Cluster The Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Uwe Pfeil
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, German Center for Lung Research, Justus Liebig University Giessen; Giessen, Germany
- Excellence Cluster The Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Katrin Richter
- Laboratory of Experimental Surgery, Department of General and Thoracic Surgery, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Mike Althaus
- Physiology Group, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Rheinbach, Germany
| | - Johannes Oberwinkler
- Institut für Physiologie und Pathophysiologie, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Burkhard Schütz
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Ulrich Boehm
- Experimental Pharmacology, Center for Molecular Signaling (PZMS), Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Offermanns
- Excellence Cluster The Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Department of Pharmacology, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim, Germany
| | - Trese Leinders-Zufall
- Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
| | - Frank Zufall
- Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Kummer
- Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, German Center for Lung Research, Justus Liebig University Giessen; Giessen, Germany
- Excellence Cluster The Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
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5
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Gutierrez-Castellanos N, Husain BFA, Dias IC, Lima SQ. Neural and behavioral plasticity across the female reproductive cycle. Trends Endocrinol Metab 2022; 33:769-785. [PMID: 36253276 DOI: 10.1016/j.tem.2022.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Sex is fundamental for the evolution and survival of most species. However, sex can also pose danger, because it increases the risk of predation and disease transmission, among others. Thus, in many species, cyclic fluctuations in the concentration of sex hormones coordinate sexual receptivity and attractiveness with female reproductive capacity, promoting copulation when fertilization is possible and preventing it otherwise. In recent decades, numerous studies have reported a wide variety of sex hormone-dependent plastic rearrangements across the entire brain, including areas relevant for female sexual behavior. By contrast, how sex hormone-induced plasticity alters the computations performed by such circuits, such that collectively they produce the appropriate periodic switches in female behavior, is mostly unknown. In this review, we highlight the myriad sex hormone-induced neuronal changes known so far, the full repertoire of behavioral changes across the reproductive cycle, and the few examples where the relationship between sex hormone-dependent plasticity, neural activity, and behavior has been established. We also discuss current challenges to causally link the actions of sex hormones to the modification of specific cellular pathways and behavior, focusing on rodents as a model system while drawing a comparison between rodents and humans wherever possible.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Basma F A Husain
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Foundation, Avenida Brasília, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Inês C Dias
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Foundation, Avenida Brasília, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Susana Q Lima
- Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Foundation, Avenida Brasília, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal.
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6
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Villamayor PR, Gullón J, Quintela L, Sánchez-Quinteiro P, Martínez P, Robledo D. Sex separation unveils the functional plasticity of the vomeronasal organ in rabbits. Front Mol Neurosci 2022; 15:1034254. [PMID: 36340690 PMCID: PMC9634631 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.1034254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Chemosensory cues are vital for social and sexual behaviours and are primarily detected and processed by the vomeronasal system (VNS), whose plastic capacity has been investigated in mice. However, studying chemosensory plasticity outside of laboratory conditions may give a more realistic picture of how the VNS adapts to a changing environment. Rabbits are a well-described model of chemocommunication since the discovery of the rabbit mammary pheromone and their vomeronasal organ (VNO) transcriptome was recently characterised, a first step to further study plasticity-mediated transcriptional changes. In this study, we assessed the plastic capacity of the rabbit male and female VNO under sex-separation vs. sex-combined scenarios, including adults and juveniles, to determine whether the rabbit VNO is plastic and, if so, whether such plasticity is already established at early stages of life. First, we characterised the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the VNO of rabbit male and female under sex-separation and compared it to sex-combined individuals, both in adults and juveniles, finding that differences between male and female were larger in a sex-separated scenario. Secondly, we analysed the number of DEGs between sex-separated and sex-combined scenarios, both in males and females. In adults, both sexes showed a high number of DEGs while in juveniles only females showed differences. Additionally, the vomeronasal receptor genes were strikingly downregulated in sex-separated adult females, whereas in juveniles upregulation was shown for the same condition, suggesting a role of VRs in puberty onset. Finally, we described the environment-modulated plastic capacity of genes involved in reproduction, immunity and VNO functional activity, including G-protein coupled receptors. Our results show that sex-separation induces sex- and stage-specific gene expression differences in the VNO of male and female rabbit, both in adults and juveniles. These results bring out for the first time the plastic capacity of the rabbit VNO, supporting its functional adaptation to specifically respond to a continuous changing environment. Finally, species-specific differences and individual variability should always be considered in VNO studies and overall chemocommunication research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula R. Villamayor
- Departamento de Zooloxía, Xenética e Antropoloxía Física, Facultade de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
- Departamento de Anatomía, Producción Animal e Ciencias Clínicas Veterinarias, Facultade de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | | | - Luis Quintela
- Departamento de Patoloxía Animal, Facultade de Veterinaria Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Pablo Sánchez-Quinteiro
- Departamento de Anatomía, Producción Animal e Ciencias Clínicas Veterinarias, Facultade de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Paulino Martínez
- Departamento de Zooloxía, Xenética e Antropoloxía Física, Facultade de Veterinaria, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Diego Robledo
- The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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7
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Manzini I, Schild D, Di Natale C. Principles of odor coding in vertebrates and artificial chemosensory systems. Physiol Rev 2021; 102:61-154. [PMID: 34254835 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00036.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The biological olfactory system is the sensory system responsible for the detection of the chemical composition of the environment. Several attempts to mimic biological olfactory systems have led to various artificial olfactory systems using different technical approaches. Here we provide a parallel description of biological olfactory systems and their technical counterparts. We start with a presentation of the input to the systems, the stimuli, and treat the interface between the external world and the environment where receptor neurons or artificial chemosensors reside. We then delineate the functions of receptor neurons and chemosensors as well as their overall I-O relationships. Up to this point, our account of the systems goes along similar lines. The next processing steps differ considerably: while in biology the processing step following the receptor neurons is the "integration" and "processing" of receptor neuron outputs in the olfactory bulb, this step has various realizations in electronic noses. For a long period of time, the signal processing stages beyond the olfactory bulb, i.e., the higher olfactory centers were little studied. Only recently there has been a marked growth of studies tackling the information processing in these centers. In electronic noses, a third stage of processing has virtually never been considered. In this review, we provide an up-to-date overview of the current knowledge of both fields and, for the first time, attempt to tie them together. We hope it will be a breeding ground for better information, communication, and data exchange between very related but so far little connected fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Manzini
- Animal Physiology and Molecular Biomedicine, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Gießen, Germany
| | - Detlev Schild
- Institute of Neurophysiology and Cellular Biophysics, University Medical Center, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Corrado Di Natale
- Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
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8
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Villamayor PR, Robledo D, Fernández C, Gullón J, Quintela L, Sánchez-Quinteiro P, Martínez P. Analysis of the vomeronasal organ transcriptome reveals variable gene expression depending on age and function in rabbits. Genomics 2021; 113:2240-2252. [PMID: 34015461 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2021.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2020] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is a chemosensory organ specialized in pheromone detection that shows a broad morphofunctional and genomic diversity among mammals. However, its expression patterns have only been well-characterized in mice. Here, we provide the first comprehensive RNA sequencing study of the rabbit VNO across gender and sexual maturation stages. We characterized the VNO transcriptome, updating the number and expression of the two main vomeronasal receptor families, including 128 V1Rs and 67 V2Rs. Further, we defined the expression of formyl-peptide receptor and transient receptor potential channel families, both known to have specific roles in the VNO. Several sex hormone-related pathways were consistently enriched in the VNO, highlighting the relevance of this organ in reproduction. Moreover, whereas juvenile and adult VNOs showed significant transcriptome differences, male and female did not. Overall, these results contribute to understand the genomic basis of behavioural responses mediated by the VNO in a non-rodent model.
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Affiliation(s)
- P R Villamayor
- Department of Zoology Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain; Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - D Robledo
- The Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK
| | - C Fernández
- Department of Zoology Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - J Gullón
- Conejos Gallegos, COGAL SL, Rodeiro, Pontevedra, Spain
| | - L Quintela
- Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - P Sánchez-Quinteiro
- Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain.
| | - P Martínez
- Department of Zoology Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Veterinary, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
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9
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Abstract
Odors may be pleasant or unpleasant and in practice, pleasant odors are attractive while unpleasant odors are repellent. However, an odor that is noxious to one species may be attractive to another. Plants, predators, and pathogens may enhance their transmission by manipulating these signals. This may be especially significant when odors attract arthropod disease vectors. Odor detection may also be important in small prey species for evasion of macropredators such as large carnivores. Conversely, pleasant odors may identify family members, parents, or sexual partners. They may also generate signals of good health or fitness and contribute to the process of mate selection. In this review, we seek to integrate these odor-driven processes into a coherent pattern of behaviors that serve to complement the innate and adaptive immune systems. It may be considered the 'behavioral immune system'.
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10
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Katreddi RR, Forni PE. Mechanisms underlying pre- and postnatal development of the vomeronasal organ. Cell Mol Life Sci 2021; 78:5069-5082. [PMID: 33871676 PMCID: PMC8254721 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-021-03829-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is sensory organ located in the ventral region of the nasal cavity in rodents. The VNO develops from the olfactory placode during the secondary invagination of olfactory pit. The embryonic vomeronasal structure appears as a neurogenic area where migratory neuronal populations like endocrine gonadotropin-releasing hormone-1 (GnRH-1) neurons form. Even though embryonic vomeronasal structures are conserved across most vertebrate species, many species including humans do not have a functional VNO after birth. The vomeronasal epithelium (VNE) of rodents is composed of two major types of vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs): (1) VSNs distributed in the apical VNE regions that express vomeronasal type-1 receptors (V1Rs) and the G protein subunit Gαi2, and (2) VSNs in the basal territories of the VNE that express vomeronasal type-2 receptors (V2Rs) and the G subunit Gαo. Recent studies identified a third subclass of Gαi2 and Gαo VSNs that express the formyl peptide receptor family. VSNs expressing V1Rs or V2Rs send their axons to distinct regions of the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB). Together, VNO and AOB form the accessory olfactory system (AOS), an olfactory subsystem that coordinates the social and sexual behaviors of many vertebrate species. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie VNO development. We also discuss open questions for study, which we suggest will further enhance our understanding of VNO morphogenesis at embryonic and postnatal stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raghu Ram Katreddi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Neuroscience Research, The RNA Institute, University At Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA
| | - Paolo E Forni
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Neuroscience Research, The RNA Institute, University At Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA.
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11
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Tirindelli R. Coding of pheromones by vomeronasal receptors. Cell Tissue Res 2021; 383:367-386. [PMID: 33433690 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-020-03376-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Communication between individuals is critical for species survival, reproduction, and expansion. Most terrestrial species, with the exception of humans who predominantly use vision and phonation to create their social network, rely on the detection and decoding of olfactory signals, which are widely known as pheromones. These chemosensory cues originate from bodily fluids, causing attractive or avoidance behaviors in subjects of the same species. Intraspecific pheromone signaling is then crucial to identify sex, social ranking, individuality, and health status, thus establishing hierarchies and finalizing the most efficient reproductive strategies. Indeed, all these features require fine tuning of the olfactory systems to detect molecules containing this information. To cope with this complexity of signals, tetrapods have developed dedicated olfactory subsystems that refer to distinct peripheral sensory detectors, called the main olfactory and the vomeronasal organ, and two minor structures, namely the septal organ of Masera and the Grueneberg ganglion. Among these, the vomeronasal organ plays the most remarkable role in pheromone coding by mediating several behavioral outcomes that are critical for species conservation and amplification. In rodents, this organ is organized into two segregated neuronal subsets that express different receptor families. To some extent, this dichotomic organization is preserved in higher projection areas of the central nervous system, suggesting, at first glance, distinct functions for these two neuronal pathways. Here, I will specifically focus on this issue and discuss the role of vomeronasal receptors in mediating important innate behavioral effects through the recognition of pheromones and other biological chemosignals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Tirindelli
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Via Volturno, 39, 43125, Parma, Italy.
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12
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Schmid T, Boehm U, Braun T. GnRH neurogenesis depends on embryonic pheromone receptor expression. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2020; 518:111030. [PMID: 32931849 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2020.111030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Revised: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons control mammalian reproduction and migrate from their birthplace in the nasal placode to the hypothalamus during development. Despite much work on the origin and migration of GnRH neurons, the processes that control GnRH lineage formation are not fully understood. Here, we demonstrate that Nhlh genes control vomeronasal receptor expression in the developing murine olfactory placode associated with the generation of the first GnRH neurons at embryonic days (E)10-12. Inactivation of ß2-microglobulin (ß2-m), which selectively affects surface expression of V2Rs, dramatically decreased the number of GnRH neurons in the Nhlh2 mutant background, preventing rescue of fertility in female Nhlh2 mutant mice by male pheromones. In addition, we show that GnRH neurons generated after E12 fail to establish synaptic connections to the vomeronasal amygdala, suggesting the existence of functionally specialized subpopulations of GnRH neurons, which process pheromonal information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Schmid
- Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, 61231, Bad Nauheim, Ludwigstr. 43, Germany
| | - Ulrich Boehm
- Experimental Pharmacology, Center for Molecular Signaling (PZMS), Saarland University School of Medicine, Homburg, Germany.
| | - Thomas Braun
- Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, 61231, Bad Nauheim, Ludwigstr. 43, Germany; Instituto de Investigacion en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET- Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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13
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Abstract
Most mammals rely on chemosensory cues for individual recognition, which is essential to many aspects of social behavior, such as maternal bonding, mate recognition, and inbreeding avoidance. Both volatile molecules and nonvolatile peptides secreted by individual conspecifics are detected by olfactory sensory neurons in the olfactory epithelium and the vomeronasal organ. The pertinent cues used for individual recognition remain largely unidentified. Here we show that nonformylated, but not N-formylated, mitochondrially encoded peptides-that is, the nine N-terminal amino acids of NADH dehydrogenases 1 and 2-can be used to convey strain-specific information among individual mice. We demonstrate that these nonformylated peptides are sufficient to induce a strain-selective pregnancy block. We also observed that the pregnancy block by an unfamiliar peptide derived from a male of a different strain was prevented by a memory formed at the time of mating with that male. Our findings also demonstrate that pregnancy-blocking chemosignals in the urine are maternally inherited, as evidenced by the production of reciprocal sons from two inbred strains and our test of their urine's ability to block pregnancy. We propose that this link between polymorphic mitochondrial peptides and individual recognition provides the molecular means to communicate an individual's maternal lineage and strain.
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14
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The vomeronasal system of the newborn capybara: a morphological and immunohistochemical study. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13304. [PMID: 32764621 PMCID: PMC7411026 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69994-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The vomeronasal system (VNS) is responsible for the perception mainly of pheromones and kairomones. Primarily studied in laboratory rodents, it plays a crucial role in their socio-sexual behaviour. As a wild rodent, the capybara offers a more objective and representative perspective to understand the significance of the system in the Rodentia, avoiding the risk of extrapolating from laboratory rodent strains, exposed to high levels of artificial selection pressure. We have studied the main morphological and immunohistochemical features of the capybara vomeronasal organ (VNO) and accessory olfactory bulb (AOB). The study was done in newborn individuals to investigate the maturity of the system at this early stage. We used techniques such as histological stains, lectins-labelling and immunohistochemical characterization of a range of proteins, including G proteins (Gαi2, Gαo) and olfactory marking protein. As a result, we conclude that the VNS of the capybara at birth is capable of establishing the same function as that of the adult, and that it presents unique features as the high degree of differentiation of the AOB and the active cellular migration in the vomeronasal epithelium. All together makes the capybara a promising model for the study of chemical communication in the first days of life.
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15
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Cell Communication-mediated Nonself-Recognition and -Intolerance in Representative Species of the Animal Kingdom. J Mol Evol 2020; 88:482-500. [PMID: 32572694 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-020-09955-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Why has histo-incompatibility arisen in evolution and can cause self-intolerance? Compatible/incompatible reactions following natural contacts between genetically-different (allogeneic) colonies of marine organisms have inspired the conception that self-nonself discrimination has developed to reduce invasion threats by migratory foreign germ/somatic stem cells, in extreme cases resulting in conquest of the whole body by a foreign genome. Two prominent model species for allogeneic discrimination are the marine invertebrates Hydractinia (Cnidaria) and Botryllus (Ascidiacea). In Hydractinia, self-nonself recognition is based on polymorphic surface markers encoded by two genes (alr1, alr2), with self recognition enabled by homophilic binding of identical ALR molecules. Variable expression patterns of alr alleles presumably account for the first paradigm of autoaggression in an invertebrate. In Botryllus, self-nonself recognition is controlled by a single polymorphic gene locus (BHF) with hundreds of codominantly expressed alleles. Fusion occurs when both partners share at least one BHF allele while rejection develops when no allele is shared. Molecules involved in allorecognition frequently contain immunoglobulin or Ig-like motifs, case-by-case supplemented by additional molecules enabling homophilic interaction, while the mechanisms applied to destroy allogeneic grafts or neighbors include taxon-specific tools besides common facilities of natural immunity. The review encompasses comparison with allorecognition in mammals based on MHC-polymorphism in transplantation and following feto-maternal cell trafficking.
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16
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Bufe B, Teuchert Y, Schmid A, Pyrski M, Pérez-Gómez A, Eisenbeis J, Timm T, Ishii T, Lochnit G, Bischoff M, Mombaerts P, Leinders-Zufall T, Zufall F. Bacterial MgrB peptide activates chemoreceptor Fpr3 in mouse accessory olfactory system and drives avoidance behaviour. Nat Commun 2019; 10:4889. [PMID: 31653840 PMCID: PMC6814738 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12842-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Innate immune chemoreceptors of the formyl peptide receptor (Fpr) family are expressed by vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs) in the accessory olfactory system. Their biological function and coding mechanisms remain unknown. We show that mouse Fpr3 (Fpr-rs1) recognizes the core peptide motif f-MKKFRW that is predominantly present in the signal sequence of the bacterial protein MgrB, a highly conserved regulator of virulence and antibiotic resistance in Enterobacteriaceae. MgrB peptide can be produced and secreted by bacteria, and is selectively recognized by a subset of VSNs. Exposure to the peptide also stimulates VSNs in freely behaving mice and drives innate avoidance. Our data shows that Fpr3 is required for neuronal detection and avoidance of peptides derived from a conserved master virulence regulator of enteric bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernd Bufe
- Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, Saarland University, 66424, Homburg, Germany.,Molecular Immunology Section, Faculty of Computer Science and Microsystems Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Amerikastrasse 1, 66482, Zweibrücken, Germany
| | - Yannick Teuchert
- Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, Saarland University, 66424, Homburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Schmid
- Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, Saarland University, 66424, Homburg, Germany
| | - Martina Pyrski
- Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, Saarland University, 66424, Homburg, Germany
| | - Anabel Pérez-Gómez
- Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, Saarland University, 66424, Homburg, Germany.,Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 N Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA
| | - Janina Eisenbeis
- Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Saarland University, 66424, Homburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Timm
- Protein Analytics, Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Friedrichstrasse 24, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Tomohiro Ishii
- Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 4, 60438, Frankfurt, Germany.,Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan
| | - Günter Lochnit
- Protein Analytics, Institute of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Friedrichstrasse 24, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Markus Bischoff
- Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Saarland University, 66424, Homburg, Germany
| | - Peter Mombaerts
- Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 4, 60438, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Trese Leinders-Zufall
- Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, Saarland University, 66424, Homburg, Germany
| | - Frank Zufall
- Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, Saarland University, 66424, Homburg, Germany.
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17
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Mahdy EAA, El Behery EI, Mohamed SKA. Comparative morpho-histological analysis on the vomeronasal organ and the accessory olfactory bulb in Balady dogs ( Canis familiaris) and New Zealand rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus). J Adv Vet Anim Res 2019; 6:506-515. [PMID: 31819879 PMCID: PMC6882720 DOI: 10.5455/javar.2019.f375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: This study investigated the comparative morphological analysis of the vomeronasal organ and the accessory olfactory bulb in dogs and rabbits. Materials and Methods: A total of 15 heads obtained from each adult healthy Balady dog (Canis familiaris) and New Zealand rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) of both sexes. The animals were sedated and anesthetized. Then, the heads were removed for computing topography, gross, and cross-sectional anatomy and histological techniques. Results: The vomeronasal organ was blind bilateral tubes enclosed by J-shaped cartilage on each side of the nasal septum. In dogs, it extended from the level of the upper third premolar teeth to the third incisive teeth. While in rabbits, it had no relation with the upper teeth. In cross section, the vomeronasal organ was pear-shaped in dogs and oval in rabbits. The accessory olfactory bulb was a small oval-shaped in dogs, but larger and ovoid in rabbits with clear lamination in its structure. The vomeronasal epithelium in rabbits was higher in its thickness than that of the dog. The vomeronasal duct had medial sensory and lateral respiratory epithelium. The vomeronasal glands were voluminous and of serous type in rabbits other than were seromucous in dogs. Conclusion: The most characteristic structural variations achieved in the vomeronasal organ and the accessory olfactory bulb of the dog and rabbit gave an indication that the organ was more functional in rabbits than in dogs. The detection and response to the pheromonal stimuli were referred to as the occurrence of olfactory epithelium in the vomeronasal organ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eman A A Mahdy
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
| | - Eman Ismail El Behery
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
| | - Sherif Kh A Mohamed
- Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt
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18
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Liu Q, Zhang Y, Wang P, Guo X, Wu Y, Zhang JX, Huang L. Two Preputial Gland-Secreted Pheromones Evoke Sexually Dimorphic Neural Pathways in the Mouse Vomeronasal System. Front Cell Neurosci 2019; 13:455. [PMID: 31632243 PMCID: PMC6783556 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2019.00455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Hexadecanol (16OH) and hexadecyl acetate (16Ac) are two pheromones secreted in a large quantity by mouse preputial glands and act on male and female mice differentially. Yet the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, we examined the activation of vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs) by these two pheromones and mapped the downstream neural circuits that process and relay their chemosignals. Using the calcium imaging method and immunohistochemistry, we found that a small number of VSNs were activated by 16OH, 16AC, or both in the male and female mice, most of which were located apically in the vomeronasal epithelium, and their numbers did not increase when the concentrations of 16OH and 16Ac were raised by 10,000-fold except that of female VSNs in response to 16OH. In the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), the two pheromones evoked more c-Fos+ neurons in the anterior AOB (aAOB) than in the posterior AOB (pAOB); and the increases in the number of c-Fos+ neurons in both aAOB and pAOB were dose-dependent; and between sexes, the female AOB responded more strongly to 16OH than to 16Ac whereas the male AOB had the opposite response pattern. This sexual dimorphism was largely retained in the downstream brain regions, including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), the medial amygdaloid nucleus (MeA), the posteromedial cortical amygdaloid nucleus (PMCo), the medial preoptic area (MPA), and the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VmH). Taken together, out data indicate that there is one V1r receptor each for 16OH, 16Ac, or both, and that activation of these receptors evokes sexually dimorphic neural circuits, directing different behavioral outputs and possibly modulating other pheromone-induced responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qun Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yaohua Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Pan Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yijun Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jian-Xu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents in Agriculture, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Liquan Huang
- College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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19
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Mohrhardt J, Nagel M, Fleck D, Ben-Shaul Y, Spehr M. Signal Detection and Coding in the Accessory Olfactory System. Chem Senses 2019; 43:667-695. [PMID: 30256909 PMCID: PMC6211456 DOI: 10.1093/chemse/bjy061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In many mammalian species, the accessory olfactory system plays a central role in guiding behavioral and physiological responses to social and reproductive interactions. Because of its relatively compact structure and its direct access to amygdalar and hypothalamic nuclei, the accessory olfactory pathway provides an ideal system to study sensory control of complex mammalian behavior. During the last several years, many studies employing molecular, behavioral, and physiological approaches have significantly expanded and enhanced our understanding of this system. The purpose of the current review is to integrate older and newer studies to present an updated and comprehensive picture of vomeronasal signaling and coding with an emphasis on early accessory olfactory system processing stages. These include vomeronasal sensory neurons in the vomeronasal organ, and the circuitry of the accessory olfactory bulb. Because the overwhelming majority of studies on accessory olfactory system function employ rodents, this review is largely focused on this phylogenetic order, and on mice in particular. Taken together, the emerging view from both older literature and more recent studies is that the molecular, cellular, and circuit properties of chemosensory signaling along the accessory olfactory pathway are in many ways unique. Yet, it has also become evident that, like the main olfactory system, the accessory olfactory system also has the capacity for adaptive learning, experience, and state-dependent plasticity. In addition to describing what is currently known about accessory olfactory system function and physiology, we highlight what we believe are important gaps in our knowledge, which thus define exciting directions for future investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Mohrhardt
- Department of Chemosensation, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Maximilian Nagel
- Department of Chemosensation, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - David Fleck
- Department of Chemosensation, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Yoram Ben-Shaul
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, School of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Marc Spehr
- Department of Chemosensation, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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20
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Abstract
The mammalian vomeronasal organ (VNO) detects and transduces molecular cues emitted by other individuals that influence social behaviors such as mating and aggression. The detection of these chemosignals involves recognition of specific ligands by dedicated G protein-coupled receptors. Here, we describe recent methodological advances using a herpes virus-based amplicon delivery system to overexpress vomeronasal receptor genes in native, dissociated VNO neurons and to characterize corresponding cell responses to potential ligands through Ca2+ imaging. This methodology enables us to analyze the response patterns of single vomeronasal receptors to a large number of chemosensory stimuli.
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21
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Central role of G protein Gαi2 and Gαi2 + vomeronasal neurons in balancing territorial and infant-directed aggression of male mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:5135-5143. [PMID: 30804203 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1821492116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Aggression is controlled by the olfactory system in many animal species. In male mice, territorial and infant-directed aggression are tightly regulated by the vomeronasal organ (VNO), but how diverse subsets of sensory neurons convey pheromonal information to limbic centers is not yet known. Here, we employ genetic strategies to show that mouse vomeronasal sensory neurons expressing the G protein subunit Gαi2 regulate male-male and infant-directed aggression through distinct circuit mechanisms. Conditional ablation of Gαi2 enhances male-male aggression and increases neural activity in the medial amygdala (MeA), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and lateral septum. By contrast, conditional Gαi2 ablation causes reduced infant-directed aggression and decreased activity in MeA neurons during male-infant interactions. Strikingly, these mice also display enhanced parental behavior and elevated neural activity in the medial preoptic area, whereas sexual behavior remains normal. These results identify Gαi2 as the primary G protein α-subunit mediating the detection of volatile chemosignals in the apical layer of the VNO, and they show that Gαi2+ VSNs and the brain circuits activated by these neurons play a central role in orchestrating and balancing territorial and infant-directed aggression of male mice through bidirectional activation and inhibition of different targets in the limbic system.
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22
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Ishii KK, Touhara K. Neural circuits regulating sexual behaviors via the olfactory system in mice. Neurosci Res 2018; 140:59-76. [PMID: 30389572 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2018.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2018] [Revised: 09/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Reproduction is essential for any animal species. Reproductive behaviors, or sexual behaviors, are largely shaped by external sensory cues exchanged during sexual interaction. In many animals, including rodents, olfactory cues play a critical role in regulating sexual behavior. What exactly these olfactory cues are and how they impact animal behavior have been a central question in the field. Over the past few decades, many studies have dedicated to identifying an active compound that elicits sexual behavior from crude olfactory components. The identified substance has served as a tool to dissect the sensory processing mechanisms in the olfactory systems. In addition, recent advances in genetic engineering, and optics and microscopic techniques have greatly expanded our knowledge of the neural mechanisms underlying the control of sexual behavior in mice. This review summarizes our current knowledge about how sexual behaviors are controlled by olfactory cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kentaro K Ishii
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan; ERATO Touhara Chemosensory Signal Project, JST, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
| | - Kazushige Touhara
- Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan; ERATO Touhara Chemosensory Signal Project, JST, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
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23
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Villamayor PR, Cifuentes JM, Fdz-de-Troconiz P, Sanchez-Quinteiro P. Morphological and immunohistochemical study of the rabbit vomeronasal organ. J Anat 2018; 233:814-827. [PMID: 30255591 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The characterization of the rabbit mammary pheromone, which is sensed by the main olfactory system, has made this species a unique model for the study of pheromonal communication in mammals. This discovery has brought attention to the global understanding of chemosensory communication in this species. Chemocommunication is mediated by two distinct organs located in the nasal cavity, the main olfactory epithelium and the vomeronasal organ (VNO). However, there is a lack of knowledge about the vomeronasal system in rabbits. To understand the role of this system, an exhaustive anatomical and histological study of the rabbit VNO was performed. The rabbit VNO was studied macroscopically by light microscopy, and by histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques. We employed specific histological staining techniques (periodic acid-Schiff, Alcian blue, Gallego's trichrome), confocal autofluorescence, histochemical labelling with the lectin Ulex europaeus agglutinin (UEA-I), and immunohistochemical studies of the expression of the Gαi2 and Gαo proteins and olfactory marker protein. The opening of the vomeronasal duct into the nasal cavity and its indirect communication with the oral cavity through a functional nasopalatine duct was demonstrated by classical dissection and microdissection. In a series of transverse histological sections, special attention was paid to the general distribution of the various soft-tissue components of this organ (duct, glands, connective tissue, blood vessels and nerves) and to the nature of the capsule of the organ. Among the main morphological features that distinguish the rabbit VNO, the presence of a double envelope, which is bony externally and cartilaginous internally, and highly developed venous sinuses stand out. This observation indicates the crucial role played in this species by the pumping mechanism that introduces chemical signals into the vomeronasal duct. The functional properties of the organ are also confirmed by the presence of a well-developed neuroepithelium and profuse glandular tissue that is positive for neutral mucopolysaccharides. The role of glycoconjugates was assessed by the identification of the α1-2 fucose glycan system in the neuroepithelium of the VNO employing UEA-I lectin. The pattern of labelling, which was concentrated around the commissures of the sensory epithelium and more diffuse in the central segments, is different from that found in most mammals studied. According to the expression of G-proteins, two pathways have been described in the VNOs of mammals: neuroreceptor cells expressing the Gαi2 protein (associated with vomeronasal receptor type 1); and cells expressing Gαo (associated with vomeronasal receptor type 2). The latter pathway is absent in most mammals studied. The expression of both G-protein families in the rabbit VNO places Lagomorpha together with rodents and insectivores in a small group of mammals belonging to the two-path model. These findings support the notion that the rabbit possesses a highly developed VNO, with many specific morphological features, which highlights the significance of chemocommunication in this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula R Villamayor
- Faculty of Veterinary, Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Jose Manuel Cifuentes
- Faculty of Veterinary, Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Patricia Fdz-de-Troconiz
- Faculty of Veterinary, Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
| | - Pablo Sanchez-Quinteiro
- Faculty of Veterinary, Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain
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24
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Jager A, Maas DA, Fricke K, de Vries RB, Poelmans G, Glennon JC. Aggressive behavior in transgenic animal models: A systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 91:198-217. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Revised: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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25
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Lin JM, Taroc EZM, Frias JA, Prasad A, Catizone AN, Sammons MA, Forni PE. The transcription factor Tfap2e/AP-2ε plays a pivotal role in maintaining the identity of basal vomeronasal sensory neurons. Dev Biol 2018; 441:67-82. [PMID: 29928868 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2018.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2018] [Revised: 05/22/2018] [Accepted: 06/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The identity of individual neuronal cell types is defined and maintained by the expression of specific combinations of transcriptional regulators that control cell type-specific genetic programs. The epithelium of the vomeronasal organ of mice contains two major types of vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs): 1) the apical VSNs which express vomeronasal 1 receptors (V1r) and the G-protein subunit Gαi2 and; 2) the basal VSNs which express vomeronasal 2 receptors (V2r) and the G-protein subunit Gαo. Both cell types originate from a common pool of progenitors and eventually acquire apical or basal identity through largely unknown mechanisms. The transcription factor AP-2ε, encoded by the Tfap2e gene, plays a role in controlling the development of GABAergic interneurons in the main and accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), moreover AP-2ε has been previously described to be expressed in the basal VSNs. Here we show that AP-2ε is expressed in post-mitotic VSNs after they commit to the basal differentiation program. Loss of AP-2ε function resulted in reduced number of basal VSNs and in an increased number of neurons expressing markers of the apical lineage. Our work suggests that AP-2ε, which is expressed in late phases of differentiation, is not needed to initiate the apical-basal differentiation dichotomy but for maintaining the basal VSNs' identity. In AP-2ε mutants we observed a large number of cells that entered the basal program can express apical genes, our data suggest that differentiated VSNs of mice retain a notable level of plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer M Lin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Ed Zandro M Taroc
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Jesus A Frias
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Aparna Prasad
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Allison N Catizone
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Morgan A Sammons
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA
| | - Paolo E Forni
- Department of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222, USA.
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Silvotti L, Cavaliere RM, Belletti S, Tirindelli R. In-vivo activation of vomeronasal neurons shows adaptive responses to pheromonal stimuli. Sci Rep 2018; 8:8490. [PMID: 29855521 PMCID: PMC5981476 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26831-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In most mammals, the vomeronasal system has a pivotal role in mediating socio-sexual behaviours. The vomeronasal organ senses pheromones through the activation of specific receptors. Pheromone binding to cognate receptors activates Ca-influx via the gating of a cation channel that generates membrane depolarisation. The ex-vivo activation of vomeronasal neurons (VSNs) by pheromonal stimuli has been largely investigated by electrophysiological and imaging techniques; however, few studies have been carried out to determine the physiological responses of VSNs, in-vivo. By tracking the phosphorylation of S6 ribosomal protein as a marker of neuronal activity, we show that S6 becomes phosphorylated (pS6) in mouse VSNs stimulated by intraspecific and heterospecific pheromonal cues. We observed that female scent induces pS6 immunoreactivity in the apical VSNs of male vomeronasal epithelium, whereas male cues stimulate S6 phosphorylation in both the basal and apical VSNs of females. We also show that this dimorphic pattern of pS6 immunoreactivity is reproduced when heterospecific stimuli are used. Moreover, we found that a consistent proportion of VSNs is activated by both heterospecific and intraspecific pheromones. Additionally, we have evidence of adaptive responses to S6 phosphorylation when stimulation with cues of the same and opposite sex and of different species is sustained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Silvotti
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Neuroscience Unit, University of Parma, Via Volturno, 39, 43125, Parma, Italy
| | - Rosa Maria Cavaliere
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Neuroscience Unit, University of Parma, Via Volturno, 39, 43125, Parma, Italy
| | - Silvana Belletti
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Neuroscience Unit, University of Parma, Via Volturno, 39, 43125, Parma, Italy
| | - Roberto Tirindelli
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Neuroscience Unit, University of Parma, Via Volturno, 39, 43125, Parma, Italy.
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Whyte-Fagundes P, Kurtenbach S, Zoidl C, Shestopalov VI, Carlen PL, Zoidl G. A Potential Compensatory Role of Panx3 in the VNO of a Panx1 Knock Out Mouse Model. Front Mol Neurosci 2018; 11:135. [PMID: 29780304 PMCID: PMC5946002 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2018.00135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Pannexins (Panx) are integral membrane proteins, with Panx1 being the best-characterized member of the protein family. Panx1 is implicated in sensory processing, and knockout (KO) animal models have become the primary tool to investigate the role(s) of Panx1 in sensory systems. Extending previous work from our group on primary olfaction, the expression patterns of Panxs in the vomeronasal organ (VNO), an auxiliary olfactory sense organ with a role in reproduction and social behavior, were compared. Using qRT-PCR and Immunohistochemistry (IHC), we confirmed the loss of Panx1, found similar Panx2 expression levels in both models, and a significant upregulation of Panx3 in mice with a global ablation of Panx1. Specifically, Panx3 showed upregulated expression in nerve fibers of the non-sensory epithelial layer in juvenile and adult KO mice and in the sensory layer of adults, which overlaps with Panx1 expression areas in WT populations. Since both social behavior and evoked ATP release in the VNO was not compromised in KO animals, we hypothesized that Panx3 could compensate for the loss of Panx1. This led us to compare Panx1 and Panx3 channels in vitro, demonstrating similar dye uptake and ATP release properties. Outcomes of this study strongly suggest that Panx3 may functionally compensate for the loss of Panx1 in the VNO of the olfactory system, ensuring sustained chemosensory processing. This finding extends previous reports on the upregulation of Panx3 in arterial walls and the skin of Panx1 KO mice, suggesting that roles of Panx1 warrant uncharacterized safeguarding mechanisms involving Panx3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paige Whyte-Fagundes
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Stefan Kurtenbach
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | | | - Valery I Shestopalov
- Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Peter L Carlen
- Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Georg Zoidl
- Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
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28
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Akiyoshi S, Ishii T, Bai Z, Mombaerts P. Subpopulations of vomeronasal sensory neurons with coordinated coexpression of type 2 vomeronasal receptor genes are differentially dependent on Vmn2r1. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 47:887-900. [PMID: 29465786 PMCID: PMC5947554 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2017] [Revised: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The mouse vomeronasal organ is specialized in the detection of pheromones. Vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs) express chemosensory receptors of two large gene repertoires, V1R and V2R, which encode G‐protein‐coupled receptors. Phylogenetically, four families of V2R genes can be discerned as follows: A, B, C, and D. VSNs located in the basal layer of the vomeronasal epithelium coordinately coexpress V2R genes from two families: Approximately half of basal VSNs coexpress Vmn2r1 of family C with a single V2R gene of family A8‐10, B, or D (‘C1 type of V2Rs’), and the other half coexpress Vmn2r2 through Vmn2r7 of family C with a single V2R gene of family A1‐6 (‘C2 type V2Rs’). The regulatory mechanisms of the coordinated coexpression of V2Rs from two families remain poorly understood. Here, we have generated two mouse strains carrying a knockout mutation in Vmn2r1 by gene targeting in embryonic stem cells. These mutations cause a differential decrease in the numbers of VSNs expressing a given C1 type of V2R. There is no compensatory expression of Vmn2r2 through Vmn2r7. VSN axons coalesce into glomeruli in the appropriate region of the accessory olfactory bulb in the absence of Vmn2r1. Gene expression profiling by NanoString reveals a differential and graded decrease in the expression levels across C1 type of V2Rs. There is no change in the expression levels of C2 type of V2Rs, with two exceptions that we reclassified as C1 type. Thus, there appears to be a fixed probability of gene choice for a given C2 type of V2R.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sachiko Akiyoshi
- Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 4, 60438, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Tomohiro Ishii
- Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 4, 60438, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Zhaodai Bai
- Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 4, 60438, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Peter Mombaerts
- Max Planck Research Unit for Neurogenetics, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 4, 60438, Frankfurt, Germany
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29
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Duyck K, DuTell V, Ma L, Paulson A, Yu CR. Pronounced strain-specific chemosensory receptor gene expression in the mouse vomeronasal organ. BMC Genomics 2017; 18:965. [PMID: 29233099 PMCID: PMC5727874 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-017-4364-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The chemosensory system plays an important role in orchestrating sexual behaviors in mammals. Pheromones trigger sexually dimorphic behaviors and different mouse strains exhibit differential responses to pheromone stimuli. It has been speculated that differential gene expression in the sensory organs that detect pheromones may underlie sexually-dimorphic and strain-specific responses to pheromone cues. Results We have performed transcriptome analyses of the mouse vomeronasal organ, a sensory organ recognizing pheromones and interspecies cues. We find little evidence of sexual dimorphism in gene expression except for Xist, an essential gene for X-linked gene inactivation. Variations in gene expression are found mainly among strains, with genes from immune response and chemosensory receptor classes dominating the list. Differentially expressed genes are concentrated in genomic hotspots enriched in these families of genes. Some chemosensory receptors show exclusive patterns of expression in different strains. We find high levels of single nucleotide polymorphism in chemosensory receptor pseudogenes, some of which lead to functionalized receptors. Moreover, we identify a number of differentially expressed long noncoding RNA species showing strong correlation or anti-correlation with chemoreceptor genes. Conclusions Our analyses provide little evidence supporting sexually dimorphic gene expression in the vomeronasal organ that may underlie dimorphic pheromone responses. In contrast, we find pronounced variations in the expression of immune response related genes, vomeronasal and G-protein coupled receptor genes among different mouse strains. These findings raised the possibility that diverse strains of mouse perceive pheromone cues differently and behavioral difference among strains in response to pheromone may first arise from differential detection of pheromones. On the other hand, sexually dimorphic responses to pheromones more likely originate from dimorphic neural circuits in the brain than from differential detection. Moreover, noncoding RNA may offer a potential regulatory mechanism controlling the differential expression patterns. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-017-4364-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Duyck
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 East 50th Street, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
| | - Vasha DuTell
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 East 50th Street, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA.,Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, University of California, 567 Evans Hall, Berkeley, 94720, USA
| | - Limei Ma
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 East 50th Street, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
| | - Ariel Paulson
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 East 50th Street, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
| | - C Ron Yu
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 1000 East 50th Street, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA. .,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA.
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30
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Experience-Dependent Plasticity in Accessory Olfactory Bulb Interneurons following Male-Male Social Interaction. J Neurosci 2017; 37:7240-7252. [PMID: 28659282 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1031-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2017] [Revised: 06/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemosensory information processing in the mouse accessory olfactory system guides the expression of social behavior. After salient chemosensory encounters, the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) experiences changes in the balance of excitation and inhibition at reciprocal synapses between mitral cells (MCs) and local interneurons. The mechanisms underlying these changes remain controversial. Moreover, it remains unclear whether MC-interneuron plasticity is unique to specific behaviors, such as mating, or whether it is a more general feature of the AOB circuit. Here, we describe targeted electrophysiological studies of AOB inhibitory internal granule cells (IGCs), many of which upregulate the immediate-early gene Arc after male-male social experience. Following the resident-intruder paradigm, Arc-expressing IGCs in acute AOB slices from resident males displayed stronger excitation than nonexpressing neighbors when sensory inputs were stimulated. The increased excitability of Arc-expressing IGCs was not correlated with changes in the strength or number of excitatory synapses with MCs but was instead associated with increased intrinsic excitability and decreased HCN channel-mediated IH currents. Consistent with increased inhibition by IGCs, MCs responded to sensory input stimulation with decreased depolarization and spiking following resident-intruder encounters. These results reveal that nonmating behaviors drive AOB inhibitory plasticity and indicate that increased MC inhibition involves intrinsic excitability changes in Arc-expressing interneurons.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) is a site of experience-dependent plasticity between excitatory mitral cells (MCs) and inhibitory internal granule cells (IGCs), but the physiological mechanisms and behavioral conditions driving this plasticity remain unclear. Here, we report studies of AOB neuronal plasticity following male-male social chemosensory encounters. We show that the plasticity-associated immediate-early gene Arc is selectively expressed in IGCs from resident males following the resident-intruder assay. After behavior, Arc-expressing IGCs are more strongly excited by sensory input stimulation and MC activation is suppressed. Arc-expressing IGCs do not show increased excitatory synaptic drive but instead show increased intrinsic excitability. These data indicate that MC-IGC plasticity is induced after male-male social chemosensory encounters, resulting in enhanced MC suppression by Arc-expressing IGCs.
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31
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Oboti L, Trova S, Schellino R, Marraudino M, Harris NR, Abiona OM, Stampar M, Lin W, Peretto P. Activity Dependent Modulation of Granule Cell Survival in the Accessory Olfactory Bulb at Puberty. Front Neuroanat 2017; 11:44. [PMID: 28588456 PMCID: PMC5440572 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2017.00044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The vomeronasal system (VNS) is specialized in the detection of salient chemical cues triggering social and neuroendocrine responses. Such responses are not always stereotyped, instead, they vary depending on age, sex, and reproductive state, yet the mechanisms underlying this variability are unclear. Here, by analyzing neuronal survival in the first processing nucleus of the VNS, namely the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), through multiple bromodeoxyuridine birthdating protocols, we show that exposure of female mice to male soiled bedding material affects the integration of newborn granule interneurons mainly after puberty. This effect is induced by urine compounds produced by mature males, as bedding soiled by younger males was ineffective. The granule cell increase induced by mature male odor exposure is not prevented by pre-pubertal ovariectomy, indicating a lesser role of circulating estrogens in this plasticity. Interestingly, the intake of adult male urine-derived cues by the female vomeronasal organ increases during puberty, suggesting a direct correlation between sensory activity and AOB neuronal plasticity. Thus, as odor exposure increases the responses of newly born cells to the experienced stimuli, the addition of new GABAergic inhibitory cells to the AOB might contribute to the shaping of vomeronasal processing of male cues after puberty. Consistently, only after puberty, female mice are capable to discriminate individual male odors through the VNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Livio Oboti
- Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Health System, WashingtonDC, United States
| | - Sara Trova
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi, University of TorinoOrbassano, Italy
| | - Roberta Schellino
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi, University of TorinoOrbassano, Italy.,Department of Neurosciences "Rita Levi Montalcini", University of TurinTurin, Italy
| | - Marilena Marraudino
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi, University of TorinoOrbassano, Italy.,Department of Neurosciences "Rita Levi Montalcini", University of TurinTurin, Italy
| | - Natalie R Harris
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, BaltimoreMD, United States
| | - Olubukola M Abiona
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, BaltimoreMD, United States
| | - Mojca Stampar
- Research Center for Genetic Medicine, Children's National Health System, WashingtonDC, United States
| | - Weihong Lin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, BaltimoreMD, United States
| | - Paolo Peretto
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi, University of TorinoOrbassano, Italy
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32
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Ackels T, Drose DR, Spehr M. In-depth Physiological Analysis of Defined Cell Populations in Acute Tissue Slices of the Mouse Vomeronasal Organ. J Vis Exp 2016. [PMID: 27684435 DOI: 10.3791/54517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In most mammals, the vomeronasal organ (VNO) is a chemosensory structure that detects both hetero- and conspecific social cues. Vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs) express a specific type of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) from at least three different chemoreceptor gene families allowing sensitive and specific detection of chemosensory cues. These families comprise the V1r and V2r gene families as well as the formyl peptide receptor (FPR)-related sequence (Fpr-rs) family of putative chemoreceptor genes. In order to understand the physiology of vomeronasal receptor-ligand interactions and downstream signaling, it is essential to identify the biophysical properties inherent to each specific class of VSNs. The physiological approach described here allows identification and in-depth analysis of a defined population of sensory neurons using a transgenic mouse line (Fpr-rs3-i-Venus). The use of this protocol, however, is not restricted to this specific line and thus can easily be extended to other genetically modified lines or wild type animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Ackels
- Department of Chemosensation, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University; Mill Hill Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute;
| | - Daniela R Drose
- Department of Chemosensation, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University
| | - Marc Spehr
- Department of Chemosensation, Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen University
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33
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Ferrer I, Garcia-Esparcia P, Carmona M, Carro E, Aronica E, Kovacs GG, Grison A, Gustincich S. Olfactory Receptors in Non-Chemosensory Organs: The Nervous System in Health and Disease. Front Aging Neurosci 2016; 8:163. [PMID: 27458372 PMCID: PMC4932117 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2016.00163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2016] [Accepted: 06/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Olfactory receptors (ORs) and down-stream functional signaling molecules adenylyl cyclase 3 (AC3), olfactory G protein α subunit (Gαolf), OR transporters receptor transporter proteins 1 and 2 (RTP1 and RTP2), receptor expression enhancing protein 1 (REEP1), and UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) are expressed in neurons of the human and murine central nervous system (CNS). In vitro studies have shown that these receptors react to external stimuli and therefore are equipped to be functional. However, ORs are not directly related to the detection of odors. Several molecules delivered from the blood, cerebrospinal fluid, neighboring local neurons and glial cells, distant cells through the extracellular space, and the cells’ own self-regulating internal homeostasis can be postulated as possible ligands. Moreover, a single neuron outside the olfactory epithelium expresses more than one receptor, and the mechanism of transcriptional regulation may be different in olfactory epithelia and brain neurons. OR gene expression is altered in several neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) subtypes MM1 and VV2 with disease-, region- and subtype-specific patterns. Altered gene expression is also observed in the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia with a major but not total influence of chlorpromazine treatment. Preliminary parallel observations have also shown the presence of taste receptors (TASRs), mainly of the bitter taste family, in the mammalian brain, whose function is not related to taste. TASRs in brain are also abnormally regulated in neurodegenerative diseases. These seminal observations point to the need for further studies on ORs and TASRs chemoreceptors in the mammalian brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isidro Ferrer
- Institute of Neuropathology, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED)Madrid, Spain; Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelona, Spain
| | - Paula Garcia-Esparcia
- Institute of Neuropathology, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED)Madrid, Spain; Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelona, Spain
| | - Margarita Carmona
- Institute of Neuropathology, Bellvitge University Hospital, Hospitalet de Llobregat, University of BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain; Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED)Madrid, Spain; Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Hospitalet de LlobregatBarcelona, Spain
| | - Eva Carro
- Center for Biomedical Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED)Madrid, Spain; Neuroscience Group, Research Institute HospitalMadrid, Spain
| | - Eleonora Aronica
- Department of Neuropathology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Gabor G Kovacs
- Institute of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna Vienna, Austria
| | - Alice Grison
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Area of Neuroscience Trieste, Italy
| | - Stefano Gustincich
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Area of Neuroscience Trieste, Italy
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Functional Overexpression of Vomeronasal Receptors Using a Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1)-Derived Amplicon. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0156092. [PMID: 27195771 PMCID: PMC4873243 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 05/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
In mice, social behaviors such as mating and aggression are mediated by pheromones and related chemosignals. The vomeronasal organ (VNO) detects olfactory information from other individuals by sensory neurons tuned to respond to specific chemical cues. Receptors expressed by vomeronasal neurons are implicated in selective detection of these cues. Nearly 400 receptor genes have been identified in the mouse VNO, but the tuning properties of individual receptors remain poorly understood, in part due to the lack of a robust heterologous expression system. Here we develop a herpes virus-based amplicon delivery system to overexpress three types of vomeronasal receptor genes and to characterize cell responses to their proposed ligands. Through Ca2+ imaging in native VNO cells we show that virus-induced overexpression of V1rj2, V2r1b or Fpr3 caused a pronounced increase of responsivity to sulfated steroids, MHC-binding peptide or the synthetic hexapeptide W-peptide, respectively. Other related ligands were not recognized by infected individual neurons, indicating a high degree of selectivity by the overexpressed receptor. Removal of G-protein signaling eliminates Ca2+ responses, indicating that the endogenous second messenger system is essential for observing receptor activation. Our results provide a novel expression system for vomeronasal receptors that should be useful for understanding the molecular logic of VNO ligand detection. Functional expression of vomeronasal receptors and their deorphanization provides an essential requirement for deciphering the neural mechanisms controlling behavior.
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35
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Stempel H, Jung M, Pérez-Gómez A, Leinders-Zufall T, Zufall F, Bufe B. Strain-specific Loss of Formyl Peptide Receptor 3 in the Murine Vomeronasal and Immune Systems. J Biol Chem 2016; 291:9762-75. [PMID: 26957543 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m116.714493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Formyl peptide receptor 3 (Fpr3, also known as Fpr-rs1) is a G protein-coupled receptor expressed in subsets of sensory neurons of the mouse vomeronasal organ, an olfactory substructure essential for social recognition. Fpr3 has been implicated in the sensing of infection-associated olfactory cues, but its expression pattern and function are incompletely understood. To facilitate visualization of Fpr3-expressing cells, we generated and validated two new anti-Fpr3 antibodies enabling us to analyze acute Fpr3 protein expression. Fpr3 is not only expressed in murine vomeronasal sensory neurons but also in bone marrow cells, the primary source for immune cell renewal, and in mature neutrophils. Consistent with the notion that Fpr3 functions as a pathogen sensor, Fpr3 expression in the immune system is up-regulated after stimulation with a bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide). These results strongly support a dual role for Fpr3 in both vomeronasal sensory neurons and immune cells. We also identify a large panel of mouse strains with severely altered expression and function of Fpr3, thus establishing the existence of natural Fpr3 knock-out strains. We attribute distinct Fpr3 expression in these strains to the presence or absence of a 12-nucleotide in-frame deletion (Fpr3Δ424-435). In vitro calcium imaging and immunofluorescence analyses demonstrate that the lack of four amino acids leads to an unstable, truncated, and non-functional receptor protein. The genome of at least 19 strains encodes a non-functional Fpr3 variant, whereas at least 13 other strains express an intact receptor. These results provide a foundation for understanding the in vivo function of Fpr3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hendrik Stempel
- From the Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine and
| | - Martin Jung
- the Department of Biochemistry, Saarland University School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany
| | | | | | - Frank Zufall
- From the Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine and
| | - Bernd Bufe
- From the Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine and
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Rab32 and Rab38 genes in chordate pigmentation: an evolutionary perspective. BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:26. [PMID: 26818140 PMCID: PMC4728774 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0596-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2015] [Accepted: 01/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The regulation of cellular membrane trafficking in all eukaryotes is a very complex mechanism, mostly regulated by the Rab family proteins. Among all membrane-enclosed organelles, melanosomes are the cellular site for synthesis, storage and transport of melanin granules, making them an excellent model for studies on organelle biogenesis and motility. Specific Rab proteins, as Rab32 and Rab38, have been shown to play a key role in melanosome biogenesis. We analysed the Rab32 and Rab38 genes in the teleost zebrafish and in the cephalochordate amphioxus, gaining insight on their evolutionary history following gene and genome duplications. Results We studied the molecular evolution of Rab supergroup III in deuterostomes by phylogenetic reconstruction, intron and synteny conservation. We discovered a novel amino acid stretch, named FALK, shared by three related classes belonging to Rab supergroup III: Rab7L1, Rab32LO and Rab32/Rab38. Among these, we demonstrated that the Rab32LO class, already present in the last common eukaryotic ancestor, was lost in urochordates and vertebrates. Synteny shows that one zebrafish gene, Rab38a, which is expressed in pigmented cells, retained the linkage with tyrosinase, a protein essential for pigmentation. Moreover, the chromosomal linkage of Rab32 or Rab38 with a member of the glutamate receptor metabotropic (Grm) family has been retained in all analysed gnathostomes, suggesting a conserved microsynteny in the vertebrate ancestor. Expression patterns of Rab32 and Rab38 genes in zebrafish, and Rab32/38 in amphioxus, indicate their involvement in development of pigmented cells and notochord. Conclusions Phylogenetic, intron conservation and synteny analyses point towards an evolutionary scenario based on a duplication of a single invertebrate Rab32/38 gene giving rise to vertebrate Rab32 and Rab38. The expression patterns of Rab38 paralogues highlight sub-functionalization event. Finally, the discovery of a chromosomal linkage between the Rab32 or Rab38 gene with a Grm opens new perspectives on possible conserved bystander gene regulation across the vertebrate evolution. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0596-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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37
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Brignall AC, Cloutier JF. Neural map formation and sensory coding in the vomeronasal system. Cell Mol Life Sci 2015; 72:4697-709. [PMID: 26329476 PMCID: PMC11113928 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-015-2029-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2015] [Revised: 07/31/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Sensory systems enable us to encode a clear representation of our environment in the nervous system by spatially organizing sensory stimuli being received. The organization of neural circuitry to form a map of sensory activation is critical for the interpretation of these sensory stimuli. In rodents, social communication relies strongly on the detection of chemosignals by the vomeronasal system, which regulates a wide array of behaviours, including mate recognition, reproduction, and aggression. The binding of these chemosignals to receptors on vomeronasal sensory neurons leads to activation of second-order neurons within glomeruli of the accessory olfactory bulb. Here, vomeronasal receptor activation by a stimulus is organized into maps of glomerular activation that represent phenotypic qualities of the stimuli detected. Genetic, electrophysiological and imaging studies have shed light on the principles underlying cell connectivity and sensory map formation in the vomeronasal system, and have revealed important differences in sensory coding between the vomeronasal and main olfactory system. In this review, we summarize the key factors and mechanisms that dictate circuit formation and sensory coding logic in the vomeronasal system, emphasizing differences with the main olfactory system. Furthermore, we discuss how detection of chemosignals by the vomeronasal system regulates social behaviour in mice, specifically aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra C Brignall
- Montreal Neurological Institute, Centre for Neuronal Survival, 3801 University, Room MP105, Montréal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
| | - Jean-François Cloutier
- Montreal Neurological Institute, Centre for Neuronal Survival, 3801 University, Room MP105, Montréal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada.
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montréal, Canada.
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Canada.
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Oboti L, Ibarra-Soria X, Pérez-Gómez A, Schmid A, Pyrski M, Paschek N, Kircher S, Logan DW, Leinders-Zufall T, Zufall F, Chamero P. Pregnancy and estrogen enhance neural progenitor-cell proliferation in the vomeronasal sensory epithelium. BMC Biol 2015; 13:104. [PMID: 26621367 PMCID: PMC4665882 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-015-0211-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2015] [Accepted: 11/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The hormonal state during the estrus cycle or pregnancy produces alterations on female olfactory perception that are accompanied by specific maternal behaviors, but it is unclear how sex hormones act on the olfactory system to enable these sensory changes. Results Herein, we show that the production of neuronal progenitors is stimulated in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) epithelium of female mice during a late phase of pregnancy. Using a wide range of molecular markers that cover the whole VNO cell maturation process in combination with Ca2+ imaging in early postmitotic neurons, we show that newly generated VNO cells adopt morphological and functional properties of mature sensory neurons. A fraction of these newly generated cells project their axons to the olfactory forebrain, extend dendrites that contact the VNO lumen, and can detect peptides and urinary proteins shown to contain pheromone activity. High-throughput RNA-sequencing reveals concomitant differences in gene expression in the VNO transcriptomes of pregnant females. These include relative increases in expression of 20 vomeronasal receptors, of which 17 belong to the V1R subfamily, and may therefore be considered as candidate receptors for mediating maternal behaviors. We identify the expression of several hormone receptors in the VNO of which estrogen receptor α (Esr1) is directly localized to neural progenitors. Administration of sustained high levels of estrogen, but not progesterone, is sufficient to stimulate vomeronasal progenitor cell proliferation in the VNO epithelium. Conclusions Peripheral olfactory neurogenesis driven by estrogen may contribute to modulate sensory perception and adaptive VNO-dependent behaviors during pregnancy and early motherhood. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12915-015-0211-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Livio Oboti
- Department of Physiology, and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421, Homburg, Germany. .,Present address: Center for Neuroscience Research, Children's National Health System, 20010, Washington, DC, USA.
| | - Ximena Ibarra-Soria
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK.
| | - Anabel Pérez-Gómez
- Department of Physiology, and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
| | - Andreas Schmid
- Department of Physiology, and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
| | - Martina Pyrski
- Department of Physiology, and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
| | - Nicole Paschek
- Department of Physiology, and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
| | - Sarah Kircher
- Department of Physiology, and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
| | - Darren W Logan
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, UK. .,Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, USA.
| | - Trese Leinders-Zufall
- Department of Physiology, and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
| | - Frank Zufall
- Department of Physiology, and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421, Homburg, Germany.
| | - Pablo Chamero
- Department of Physiology, and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421, Homburg, Germany. .,Present address: Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Reproduction & des Comportments, UMR 7247 INRA-CNRS-Université François Rabelais, F-37380, Nouzilly, France.
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Haga-Yamanaka S, Ma L, Yu CR. Tuning properties and dynamic range of type 1 vomeronasal receptors. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:244. [PMID: 26236183 PMCID: PMC4501179 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2015] [Accepted: 06/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The mouse vomeronasal organ (VNO) expresses chemosensory receptors that detect intra-species as well as inter-species cues. The vomeronasal neurons are thought to be highly selective in their responses. The tuning properties of individual receptors remain difficult to characterize due to the lack of a robust heterologous expression system. Here, we take a transgenic approach to ectopically express two type 1 vomeronasal receptors in the mouse VNO and characterize their responses to steroid compounds. We find that V1rj2 and V1rj3 are sensitive to two sulfated estrogens (SEs) and can be activated by a broad variety of sulfated and glucuronidated steroids at high concentrations. Individual neurons exhibit narrow range of concentration-dependent activation. Collectively, a neuronal population expressing the same receptor covers a wide dynamic range in their responses to SEs. These properties recapitulate the response profiles of endogenous neurons to SEs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Limei Ma
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - C Ron Yu
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research Kansas City, MO, USA ; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center Kansas City, KS, USA
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Yu CR. TRICK or TRP? What Trpc2(-/-) mice tell us about vomeronasal organ mediated innate behaviors. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:221. [PMID: 26157356 PMCID: PMC4477137 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2015] [Accepted: 06/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The vomeronasal organ (VNO) plays an important role in mediating semiochemical communications and social behaviors in terrestrial species. Genetic knockout of individual components in the signaling pathways has been used to probe vomeronasal functions, and has provided much insights into how the VNO orchestrates innate behaviors. However, all data do not agree. In particular, knocking out Trpc2, a member of the TRP family of non-selective cationic channel thought to be the main transduction channel in the VNO, results in a number of fascinating behavioral phenotypes that have not been observed in other animals whose vomeronasal function is disrupted. Recent studies have identified signaling pathways that operate in parallel of Trpc2, raising the possibility that Trpc2 mutant animals may display neomorphic behaviors. In this article, I provide a critical analysis of emerging evidence to reconcile the discrepancies and discuss their implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Ron Yu
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research Kansas City, MO, USA ; Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center Kansas City, KS, USA
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Schauer C, Tong T, Petitjean H, Blum T, Peron S, Mai O, Schmitz F, Boehm U, Leinders-Zufall T. Hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor neurons fire in synchrony with the female reproductive cycle. J Neurophysiol 2015; 114:1008-21. [PMID: 26063780 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00357.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) controls mammalian reproduction via the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (hpg) axis, acting on gonadotrope cells in the pituitary gland that express the GnRH receptor (GnRHR). Cells expressing the GnRHR have also been identified in the brain. However, the mechanism by which GnRH acts on these potential target cells remains poorly understood due to the difficulty of visualizing and identifying living GnRHR neurons in the central nervous system. We have developed a mouse strain in which GnRHR neurons express a fluorescent marker, enabling the reliable identification of these cells independent of the hormonal status of the animal. In this study, we analyze the GnRHR neurons of the periventricular hypothalamic nucleus in acute brain slices prepared from adult female mice. Strikingly, we find that the action potential firing pattern of these neurons alternates in synchrony with the estrous cycle, with pronounced burst firing during the preovulatory period. We demonstrate that GnRH stimulation is sufficient to trigger the conversion from tonic to burst firing in GnRHR neurons. Furthermore, we show that this switch in the firing pattern is reversed by a potent GnRHR antagonist. These data suggest that endogenous GnRH acts on GnRHR neurons and triggers burst firing in these cells during late proestrus and estrus. Our data have important clinical implications in that they indicate a novel mode of action for GnRHR agonists and antagonists in neurons of the central nervous system that are not part of the classical hpg axis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Schauer
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, Homburg, Germany
| | - Tong Tong
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, Homburg, Germany
| | - Hugues Petitjean
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, Homburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Blum
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, Homburg, Germany
| | - Sophie Peron
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, Homburg, Germany
| | - Oliver Mai
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Saarland School of Medicine, Homburg, Germany; and
| | - Frank Schmitz
- Department of Anatomy, University of Saarland School of Medicine, Homburg, Germany
| | - Ulrich Boehm
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Saarland School of Medicine, Homburg, Germany; and
| | - Trese Leinders-Zufall
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, Homburg, Germany;
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42
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Marjonen H, Sierra A, Nyman A, Rogojin V, Gröhn O, Linden AM, Hautaniemi S, Kaminen-Ahola N. Early maternal alcohol consumption alters hippocampal DNA methylation, gene expression and volume in a mouse model. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0124931. [PMID: 25970770 PMCID: PMC4430308 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2014] [Accepted: 03/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The adverse effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy are known, but the molecular events that lead to the phenotypic characteristics are unclear. To unravel the molecular mechanisms, we have used a mouse model of gestational ethanol exposure, which is based on maternal ad libitum ingestion of 10% (v/v) ethanol for the first 8 days of gestation (GD 0.5-8.5). Early neurulation takes place by the end of this period, which is equivalent to the developmental stage early in the fourth week post-fertilization in human. During this exposure period, dynamic epigenetic reprogramming takes place and the embryo is vulnerable to the effects of environmental factors. Thus, we hypothesize that early ethanol exposure disrupts the epigenetic reprogramming of the embryo, which leads to alterations in gene regulation and life-long changes in brain structure and function. Genome-wide analysis of gene expression in the mouse hippocampus revealed altered expression of 23 genes and three miRNAs in ethanol-exposed, adolescent offspring at postnatal day (P) 28. We confirmed this result by using two other tissues, where three candidate genes are known to express actively. Interestingly, we found a similar trend of upregulated gene expression in bone marrow and main olfactory epithelium. In addition, we observed altered DNA methylation in the CpG islands upstream of the candidate genes in the hippocampus. Our MRI study revealed asymmetry of brain structures in ethanol-exposed adult offspring (P60): we detected ethanol-induced enlargement of the left hippocampus and decreased volume of the left olfactory bulb. Our study indicates that ethanol exposure in early gestation can cause changes in DNA methylation, gene expression, and brain structure of offspring. Furthermore, the results support our hypothesis of early epigenetic origin of alcohol-induced disorders: changes in gene regulation may have already taken place in embryonic stem cells and therefore can be seen in different tissue types later in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi Marjonen
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Alejandra Sierra
- Department of Neurobiology, A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Anna Nyman
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Vladimir Rogojin
- Institute of Biomedicine & Genome-Scale Biology Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Olli Gröhn
- Department of Neurobiology, A. I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Anni-Maija Linden
- Institute of Biomedicine, Pharmacology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Sampsa Hautaniemi
- Institute of Biomedicine & Genome-Scale Biology Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Nina Kaminen-Ahola
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- * E-mail:
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43
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Pérez-Gómez A, Bleymehl K, Stein B, Pyrski M, Birnbaumer L, Munger SD, Leinders-Zufall T, Zufall F, Chamero P. Innate Predator Odor Aversion Driven by Parallel Olfactory Subsystems that Converge in the Ventromedial Hypothalamus. Curr Biol 2015; 25:1340-6. [PMID: 25936549 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.03.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2015] [Revised: 03/16/2015] [Accepted: 03/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The existence of innate predator aversion evoked by predator-derived chemostimuli called kairomones offers a strong selective advantage for potential prey animals. However, it is unclear how chemically diverse kairomones can elicit similar avoidance behaviors. Using a combination of behavioral analyses and single-cell Ca(2+) imaging in wild-type and gene-targeted mice, we show that innate predator-evoked avoidance is driven by parallel, non-redundant processing of volatile and nonvolatile kairomones through the activation of multiple olfactory subsystems including the Grueneberg ganglion, the vomeronasal organ, and chemosensory neurons within the main olfactory epithelium. Perturbation of chemosensory responses in specific subsystems through disruption of genes encoding key sensory transduction proteins (Cnga3, Gnao1) or by surgical axotomy abolished avoidance behaviors and/or cellular Ca(2+) responses to different predator odors. Stimulation of these different subsystems resulted in the activation of widely distributed target regions in the olfactory bulb, as assessed by c-Fos expression. However, in each case, this c-Fos increase was observed within the same subnuclei of the medial amygdala and ventromedial hypothalamus, regions implicated in fear, anxiety, and defensive behaviors. Thus, the mammalian olfactory system has evolved multiple, parallel mechanisms for kairomone detection that converge in the brain to facilitate a common behavioral response. Our findings provide significant insights into the genetic substrates and circuit logic of predator-driven innate aversion and may serve as a valuable model for studying instinctive fear and human emotional and panic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anabel Pérez-Gómez
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany
| | - Katherin Bleymehl
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany
| | - Benjamin Stein
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany
| | - Martina Pyrski
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany
| | - Lutz Birnbaumer
- Laboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA
| | - Steven D Munger
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, and Center for Smell and Taste, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Trese Leinders-Zufall
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany
| | - Frank Zufall
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany.
| | - Pablo Chamero
- Department of Physiology and Center for Integrative Physiology and Molecular Medicine, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany
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Abstract
The senses provide a means by which data on the physical and chemical properties of the environment may be collected and meaningfully interpreted. Sensation begins at the periphery, where a multitude of different sensory cell types are activated by environmental stimuli as different as photons and odorant molecules. Stimulus sensitivity is due to expression of different cell surface sensory receptors, and therefore the receptive field of each sense is defined by the aggregate of expressed receptors in each sensory tissue. Here, we review current understanding on patterns of expression and modes of regulation of sensory receptors.
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45
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46
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Stowers L, Kuo TH. Mammalian pheromones: emerging properties and mechanisms of detection. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2015; 34:103-9. [PMID: 25747731 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2015.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2015] [Revised: 02/11/2015] [Accepted: 02/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
The concept of mammalian pheromones was established decades before the discovery of any bioactive ligands. Therefore, their molecular identity, native sources, and the meaning of their detection has been largely speculative. There has been recent success in identifying a variety of candidate mouse pheromones and other specialized odors. These discoveries reveal that mammalian pheromones come in a variety of ligand types and they are detected by sensory neurons that are pre-set to promote an array of social and survival behaviors. Importantly, recent findings show that they activate molecularly diverse sensory neurons that differ from canonical odorant detectors. These novel sensory neurons hold future promise to unlock the mystery of how their detection is hardwired to generate behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Stowers
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
| | - Tsung-Han Kuo
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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Martín-Sánchez A, McLean L, Beynon RJ, Hurst JL, Ayala G, Lanuza E, Martínez-Garcia F. From sexual attraction to maternal aggression: when pheromones change their behavioural significance. Horm Behav 2015; 68:65-76. [PMID: 25161057 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2014.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2014] [Revised: 07/31/2014] [Accepted: 08/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
This article is part of a Special Issue "Chemosignals and Reproduction". This paper reviews the role of chemosignals in the socio-sexual interactions of female mice, and reports two experiments testing the role of pup-derived chemosignals and the male sexual pheromone darcin in inducing and promoting maternal aggression. Female mice are attracted to urine-borne male pheromones. Volatile and non-volatile urine fractions have been proposed to contain olfactory and vomeronasal pheromones. In particular, the male-specific major urinary protein (MUP) MUP20, darcin, has been shown to be rewarding and attractive to females. Non-urinary male chemosignals, such as the lacrimal protein ESP1, promote lordosis in female mice, but its attractive properties are still to be tested. There is evidence indicating that ESP1 and MUPs are detected by vomeronasal type 2 receptors (V2R). When a female mouse becomes pregnant, she undergoes dramatic changes in her physiology and behaviour. She builds a nest for her pups and takes care of them. Dams also defend the nest against conspecific intruders, attacking especially gonadally intact males. Maternal behaviour is dependent on a functional olfactory system, thus suggesting a role of chemosignals in the development of maternal behaviour. Our first experiment demonstrates, however, that pup chemosignals are not sufficient to induce maternal aggression in virgin females. In addition, it is known that vomeronasal stimuli are needed for maternal aggression. Since MUPs (and other molecules) are able to promote intermale aggression, in our second experiment we test if the attractive MUP darcin also promotes attacks on castrated male intruders by lactating dams. Our findings demonstrate that the same chemosignal, darcin, promotes attraction or aggression according to female reproductive state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Martín-Sánchez
- Laboratori de Neuroanatomia Funcional Comparada, Departments of Functional Biology and of Cell Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Univ. Valencia, C. Dr. Moliner, 50, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
| | - Lynn McLean
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Robert J Beynon
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Jane L Hurst
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Guillermo Ayala
- Department of Statistics and Operative Research, Faculty of Mathematics, Avda. Vicent Andrés Estellés, 1, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
| | - Enrique Lanuza
- Laboratori de Neuroanatomia Funcional Comparada, Departments of Functional Biology and of Cell Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Univ. Valencia, C. Dr. Moliner, 50, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
| | - Fernando Martínez-Garcia
- Laboratori de Neuroanatomia Funcional Comparada, Departments of Functional Biology and of Cell Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Univ. Valencia, C. Dr. Moliner, 50, 46100 Burjassot, Spain.
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Bufe B, Schumann T, Kappl R, Bogeski I, Kummerow C, Podgórska M, Smola S, Hoth M, Zufall F. Recognition of bacterial signal peptides by mammalian formyl peptide receptors: a new mechanism for sensing pathogens. J Biol Chem 2015; 290:7369-87. [PMID: 25605714 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m114.626747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) are G-protein-coupled receptors that function as chemoattractant receptors in innate immune responses. Here we perform systematic structure-function analyses of FPRs from six mammalian species using structurally diverse FPR peptide agonists and identify a common set of conserved agonist properties with typical features of pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Guided by these results, we discover that bacterial signal peptides, normally used to translocate proteins across cytoplasmic membranes, are a vast family of natural FPR agonists. N-terminally formylated signal peptide fragments with variable sequence and length activate human and mouse FPR1 and FPR2 at low nanomolar concentrations, thus establishing FPR1 and FPR2 as sensitive and broad signal peptide receptors. The vomeronasal receptor mFpr-rs1 and its sequence orthologue hFPR3 also react to signal peptides but are much more narrowly tuned in signal peptide recognition. Furthermore, all signal peptides examined here function as potent activators of the innate immune system. They elicit robust, FPR-dependent calcium mobilization in human and mouse leukocytes and trigger a range of classical innate defense mechanisms, such as the production of reactive oxygen species, metalloprotease release, and chemotaxis. Thus, bacterial signal peptides constitute a novel class of immune activators that are likely to contribute to mammalian immune defense against bacteria. This evolutionarily conserved detection mechanism combines structural promiscuity with high specificity and enables discrimination between bacterial and eukaryotic signal sequences. With at least 175,542 predicted sequences, bacterial signal peptides represent the largest and structurally most heterogeneous class of G-protein-coupled receptor agonists currently known for the innate immune system.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Marta Podgórska
- Virology, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany
| | - Sigrun Smola
- Virology, University of Saarland School of Medicine, 66421 Homburg, Germany
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Francia S, Silvotti L, Ghirardi F, Catzeflis F, Percudani R, Tirindelli R. Evolution of spatially coexpressed families of type-2 vomeronasal receptors in rodents. Genome Biol Evol 2014; 7:272-85. [PMID: 25539725 PMCID: PMC4316634 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evu283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is an olfactory structure for the detection of pheromones. VNO neurons express three groups of unrelated G-protein-coupled receptors. Type-2 vomeronasal receptors (V2Rs) are specifically localized in the basal neurons of the VNO and are believed to sense protein pheromones eliciting specific reproductive behaviors. In murine species, V2Rs are organized into four families. Family-ABD V2Rs are expressed monogenically and coexpress with family-C V2Rs of either subfamily C1 (V2RC1) or subfamily C2 (V2RC2), according to a coordinate temporal diagram. Neurons expressing the phylogenetically ancient V2RC1 coexpress family-BD V2Rs or a specific group of subfamily-A V2Rs (V2RA8-10), whereas a second neuronal subset (V2RC2-positive) coexpresses a recently expanded group of five subfamily-A V2Rs (V2RA1-5) along with vomeronasal-specific Major Histocompatibility Complex molecules (H2-Mv). Through database mining and Sanger sequencing, we have analyzed the onset, diversification, and expansion of the V2R-families throughout the phylogeny of Rodentia. Our results suggest that the separation of V2RC1 and V2RC2 occurred in a Cricetidae ancestor in coincidence with the evolution of the H2-Mv genes; this phylogenetic event did not correspond with the origin of the coexpressing V2RA1-5 genes, which dates back to an ancestral myomorphan lineage. Interestingly, the evolution of receptors within the V2RA1-5 group may be implicated in the origin and diversification of some of the V2R putative cognate ligands, the exocrine secreting peptides. The establishment of V2RC2, which probably reflects the complex expansion and diversification of family-A V2Rs, generated receptors that have probably acquired a more subtle functional specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - François Catzeflis
- Laboratoire de Paleontologie, Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, UMR 5554 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Montpellier 2, France
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Pérez-Gómez A, Stein B, Leinders-Zufall T, Chamero P. Signaling mechanisms and behavioral function of the mouse basal vomeronasal neuroepithelium. Front Neuroanat 2014; 8:135. [PMID: 25505388 PMCID: PMC4244706 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2014.00135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2014] [Accepted: 11/03/2014] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The vomeronasal organ (VNO) is a sensory organ that is found in most terrestrial vertebrates and that is principally implicated in the detection of pheromones. The VNO contains specialized sensory neurons organized in a pseudostratified neuroepithelium that recognize chemical signals involved in initiating innate behavioral responses. In rodents, the VNO neuroepithelium is segregated into two distinct zones, apical and basal. The molecular mechanisms involved in ligand detection by apical and basal VNO sensory neurons differ extensively. These two VNO subsystems express different subfamilies of vomeronasal receptors and signaling molecules, detect distinct chemosignals, and project to separate regions of the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB). The roles that these olfactory subdivisions play in the control of specific olfactory-mediated behaviors are largely unclear. However, analysis of mutant mouse lines for signal transduction components together with identification of defined chemosensory ligands has revealed a fundamental role of the basal part of the mouse VNO in mediating a wide range of instinctive behaviors, such as aggression, predator avoidance, and sexual attraction. Here we will compare the divergent functions and synergies between the olfactory subsystems and consider new insights in how higher neural circuits are defined for the initiation of instinctive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anabel Pérez-Gómez
- Department of Physiology, University of Saarland School of Medicine Homburg, Saarland, Germany
| | - Benjamin Stein
- Department of Physiology, University of Saarland School of Medicine Homburg, Saarland, Germany
| | - Trese Leinders-Zufall
- Department of Physiology, University of Saarland School of Medicine Homburg, Saarland, Germany
| | - Pablo Chamero
- Department of Physiology, University of Saarland School of Medicine Homburg, Saarland, Germany
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