Endocrine control of female mouse odors that elicit luteinizing hormone surges and attraction in males.

Male mice were chronically implanted with atrial cannulae and were used in a series of experiments to determine hormonal responses to urine odors of conspecifics. Most males exhibited luteinizing hormone (LH) surges within 5 min of presentation of the urine of intact females, ovariectomized females and sham-hypophysectomized females but did not show changes in serum levels of LH in response to urine from intact males or hypophysectomized females, indicating that pituitary hormones in females control the production of the relevant chemical signal. When exposed to the females themselves, males showed LH surges toward intact females but not hypophysectomized females, again suggesting the necessity of the female's pituitary for endocrine activation of males. In behavioral tests of attraction to urine odors, males were attracted to urine from intact females but not to urine from intact males, castrated males, ovariectomized females or hypophysectomized females, indicating the importance of the ovary in the control of this chemical signal. It is concluded that there are at least two distinct chemical signals in female mouse urine, one that is dependent on the pituitary and causes LH release in males and one that is dependent on the ovary and attracts males.