Sex and gonadal steroid modulation of pheromone receptor gene expression in the mouse vomeronasal organ
Sex and gonadal steroid modulation of pheromone receptor gene expression in the mouse vomeronasal organ
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DOI：
10.1016/j.neuroscience.2006.03.001
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发表时间：
2006-01-01
期刊：
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
Cherry, J. A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Alekseyenko, O. V.;Baum, M. J.;Cherry, J. A.
啮齿类动物的非挥发性化学信号由辅助嗅觉系统犁鼻器中的独特受体检测。尽管犁鼻器与性二态性行为和神经内分泌功能的调节有关，但潜在的细胞机制尚未确定。在之前的研究中，我们表明，暴露于肮脏的男性床上用品会增强犁鼻器基底区神经元的早期基因免疫反应性，这种效应取决于性别和性类固醇的表达。为了确定这种效应是否可能是由于犁鼻器官受体表达的差异造成的，我们检查了来自 V2R 受体家族不同亚家族的两个代表（VR1 和 VR4），这些受体在犁鼻器官的基底区表达。对成年 Swiss-Webster 雄性和雌性小鼠进行性腺切除，并植入含有 17 β-雌二醇、睾酮或不含类固醇的胶囊（对照）。两周后，使用来自 VR1 和 VR4 N 端细胞外结构域的探针对犁鼻器官进行原位杂交。 VR1 和 VR4 的表达在男性中显着高于女性。与未经治疗的性腺切除的男性相比，接受雌二醇但未接受睾酮治疗的男性尾部犁鼻器官中 VR1 表达水平显着降低。相比之下，相对于接受类似治疗的女性，睾酮增强了男性 VR4 的表达。尽管有这些影响，我们没有发现任何证据表明犁鼻器神经元表达雄激素或雌激素受体。这些数据表明，小鼠犁鼻器官受体的表达具有性别二态性，并受到性类固醇的调节。因此，性腺激素可能通过改变其结合的受体水平来影响犁鼻器神经元对化学信号的反应。 (c) 2006 年国际广播组织。由爱思唯尔有限公司出版。保留所有权利。
Non-volatile chemosignals in rodents are detected by unique receptors in the vomeronasal organ of the accessory olfactory system. Although the vomeronasal organ has been implicated in the regulation of sexually dimorphic behavioral and neuroendocrine functions, the underlying cellular mechanisms are undetermined. In previous studies we showed that exposure to soiled male bedding augmented immediate early gene immunoreactivity in neurons of the basal zone of the vomeronasal organ, an effect that depended on gender and sex steroid expression. To determine whether this effect could be due to differences in vomeronasal organ receptor expression, we examined two representatives (VR1 and VR4) from different subfamilies of the V2R family of receptors that are expressed in the basal zone of the vomeronasal organ. Adult Swiss-Webster male and female mice were gonadectornized and implanted with capsules containing 17 beta-estradiol, testosterone or neither steroid (control). Two weeks later vomeronasal organs were processed for in situ hybridization using probes from the N-terminal extracellular domains of VR1 and VR4. Expression of both VR1 and VR4 was significantly higher in males than in females. Estradiol, but not testosterone-treated, males had significantly lower levels of VR1 expression in the caudal vomeronasal organ compared with untreated gonadectornized males. In contrast, testosterone enhanced VR4 expression in males relative to similarly treated females. Despite these effects, we found no evidence that vomeronasal organ neurons express either androgen or estrogen receptors. These data show that expression of vomeronasal organ receptors in mice is sexually dimorphic and regulated by sex steroids. Thus, gonadal hormones may affect the response of vomeronasal organ neurons to chemosignals by altering levels of the receptors to which they bind. (c) 2006 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.