Faecal bile acids are natural ligands of the mouse accessory olfactory system.
Faecal bile acids are natural ligands of the mouse accessory olfactory system.
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DOI：
10.1038/ncomms11936
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发表时间：
2016-06-21
影响因子：
16.6
通讯作者：
Meeks JP
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Doyle WI;Dinser JA;Cansler HL;Zhang X;Dinh DD;Browder NS;Riddington IM;Meeks JP
The accessory olfactory system (AOS) guides behaviours that are important for survival and reproduction, but understanding of AOS function is limited by a lack of identified natural ligands. Here we report that mouse faeces are a robust source of AOS chemosignals and identify bile acids as a class of natural AOS ligands. Single-unit electrophysiological recordings from accessory olfactory bulb neurons in ex vivo preparations show that AOS neurons are strongly and selectively activated by peripheral stimulation with mouse faecal extracts. Faecal extracts contain several unconjugated bile acids that cause concentration-dependent neuronal activity in the AOS. Many AOS neurons respond selectively to bile acids that are variably excreted in male and female mouse faeces, and others respond to bile acids absent in mouse faeces. These results identify faeces as a natural source of AOS information, and suggest that bile acids may be mammalian pheromones and kairomones. The accessory olfactory system (AOS) processes social chemosensory information and guides behaviors that are important for survival and reproduction in mammals. Here the authors report that mouse feces are a source of AOS neuronal activity and identify unconjugated bile acids in feces as a class of natural AOS ligands.
