Keller Matthieu, Douhard Quentin, Baum Michael J, Bakker Julie
Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, University of Liège, Liège Sart Tilman, Belgium.
Chem Senses. 2006 May;31(4):315-23. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjj035. Epub 2006 Feb 16.
We studied the contribution of the main olfactory system to mate recognition and sexual behavior in female mice. Female mice received an intranasal irrigation of either a zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) solution to destroy the main olfactory epithelium (MOE) or saline (SAL) to serve as control. ZnSO4-treated female mice were no longer able to reliably distinguish between volatile as well as nonvolatile odors from an intact versus a castrated male. Furthermore, sexual behavior in mating tests with a sexually experienced male was significantly reduced in ZnSO4-treated female mice. Vomeronasal function did not seem to be affected by ZnSO4 treatment: nasal application of male urine induced similar levels of Fos protein in the mitral and granule cells of the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) of ZnSO4 as well as SAL-treated female mice. Likewise, soybean agglutinin staining, which stains the axons of vomeronasal neurons projecting to the glomerular layer of the AOB was similar in ZnSO4-treated female mice compared to SAL-treated female mice. By contrast, a significant reduction of Fos in the main olfactory bulb was observed in ZnSO4-treated females in comparison to SAL-treated animals, confirming a substantial destruction of the MOE. These results show that the MOE is primarily involved in the detection and processing of odors that are used to localize and identify the sex and endocrine status of conspecifics. By contrast, both the main and accessory olfactory systems contribute to female sexual receptivity in female mice.
我们研究了主嗅觉系统在雌性小鼠配偶识别和性行为中的作用。雌性小鼠接受鼻内灌注硫酸锌（ZnSO4）溶液以破坏主嗅上皮（MOE），或灌注生理盐水（SAL）作为对照。经ZnSO4处理的雌性小鼠不再能够可靠地区分来自完整雄性与去势雄性的挥发性和非挥发性气味。此外，在与有性经验的雄性进行的交配试验中，经ZnSO4处理的雌性小鼠的性行为显著减少。犁鼻器功能似乎未受ZnSO4处理的影响：向ZnSO4处理组和SAL处理组雌性小鼠的副嗅球（AOB）的二尖瓣细胞和颗粒细胞中鼻内施用雄性尿液诱导的Fos蛋白水平相似。同样，与SAL处理的雌性小鼠相比，经ZnSO4处理的雌性小鼠中，对投射到AOB肾小球层的犁鼻器神经元轴突进行染色的大豆凝集素染色相似。相比之下，与SAL处理的动物相比，在经ZnSO4处理的雌性小鼠中观察到主嗅球中Fos显著减少，证实了MOE的实质性破坏。这些结果表明，MOE主要参与检测和处理用于定位和识别同种个体的性别和内分泌状态的气味。相比之下，主嗅觉系统和副嗅觉系统都对雌性小鼠的雌性性接受能力有贡献。
