Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
Nature. 2010 Jul 1;466(7302):118-22. doi: 10.1038/nature09142.
Various social behaviours in mice are regulated by chemical signals called pheromones that act through the vomeronasal system. Exocrine gland-secreting peptide 1 (ESP1) is a 7-kDa peptide that is released into male tear fluids and stimulates vomeronasal sensory neurons in female mice. Here, we describe the molecular and neural mechanisms that are involved in the decoding of ESP1 signals in the vomeronasal system, which leads to behavioural output in female mice. ESP1 is recognized by a specific vomeronasal receptor, V2Rp5, and the ligand-receptor interaction results in sex-specific signal transmission to the amygdaloid and hypothalamic nuclei via the accessory olfactory bulb. Consequently, ESP1 enhances female sexual receptive behaviour upon male mounting (lordosis), allowing successful copulation. In V2Rp5-deficient mice, ESP1 induces neither neural activation nor sexual behaviour. These findings show that ESP1 is a crucial male pheromone that regulates female reproductive behaviour through a specific receptor in the mouse vomeronasal system.
各种小鼠的社会行为受称为信息素的化学信号调控，这些信号通过犁鼻器系统发挥作用。外分泌腺分泌肽 1（ESP1）是一种 7kDa 的肽，它被释放到雄性泪液中，并刺激雌性小鼠的犁鼻感觉神经元。在这里，我们描述了参与犁鼻器系统中 ESP1 信号解码的分子和神经机制，这导致了雌性小鼠的行为输出。ESP1 被特定的犁鼻受体 V2Rp5 识别，配体-受体相互作用导致通过副嗅球向杏仁核和下丘脑核进行性别特异性信号传递。因此，ESP1 增强了雄性交配（发情）时雌性的性接受行为，从而允许成功交配。在 V2Rp5 缺陷小鼠中，ESP1 既不诱导神经激活也不诱导性行为。这些发现表明，ESP1 是一种关键的雄性信息素，通过小鼠犁鼻器系统中的特定受体调节雌性生殖行为。
