Mechin Violaine, Pageat Patrick, Boutry Marion, Teruel Eva, Portalier Céline, Asproni Pietro
Tissular Biology and Chemical Communication Department, IRSEA, Institute of Research in Semiochemistry and Applied Ethology, 84400 Apt, France.
Research and Education Board, IRSEA, Institute of Research in Semiochemisrty and Applied Ethology, 84400 Apt, France.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Jun 7;13(12):1902. doi: 10.3390/ani13121902.
Chemical communication in mammals is ensured by exchanging chemical signals through the vomeronasal organ (VNO) and its ability to detect pheromones. The alteration of this organ has been proven to impact animal life, participating in the onset of aggressive behaviors in social groups. To date, few studies have highlighted the possible causes leading to these alterations, and the farming environment has not been investigated, even though irritant substances such as ammonia are known to induce serious damage in the respiratory tract. The goal of this study was to investigate the environmental impact on the VNO structure. Thirty mice were split into three groups, one housed in normal laboratory conditions and the other two in confined environments, with or without the release of litter ammonia. VNOs were analyzed using histology and immunohistochemistry to evaluate the effect of different environments on their condition. Both restricted conditions induced VNO alterations ( = 0.0311), soft-tissue alteration ( = 0.0480), and nonsensory epithelium inflammation ( = 0.0024). There was glycogen accumulation ( < 0.0001), the olfactory marker protein was underexpressed ( < 0.0001), and Gαi2 positivity remained unchanged while Gαo expression was upregulated in confined conditions. VNO conditions seemed to worsen with ammonia, even if not always significantly. These murine model results suggest that the housing environment can strongly impact VNO conditions, providing novel insights for improving indoor farming systems.
哺乳动物通过犁鼻器（VNO）交换化学信号及其检测信息素的能力来确保化学通讯。已证实该器官的改变会影响动物的生活，参与社会群体中攻击性行为的发生。迄今为止，很少有研究强调导致这些改变的可能原因，并且即使已知氨等刺激性物质会对呼吸道造成严重损害，养殖环境也尚未得到研究。本研究的目的是调查环境对犁鼻器结构的影响。将30只小鼠分为三组，一组饲养在正常实验室条件下，另外两组饲养在密闭环境中，一组有垫料氨释放，另一组没有。使用组织学和免疫组织化学分析犁鼻器，以评估不同环境对其状况的影响。两种受限条件均导致犁鼻器改变（P = 0.0311）、软组织改变（P = 0.0480）和非感觉上皮炎症（P = 0.0024）。存在糖原积累（P < 0.0001），嗅觉标记蛋白表达不足（P < 0.0001），在受限条件下Gαi2阳性保持不变，而Gαo表达上调。即使不总是显著，犁鼻器状况似乎会因氨而恶化。这些小鼠模型结果表明，饲养环境会强烈影响犁鼻器状况，为改善室内养殖系统提供了新的见解。
