Self-Exposure to the Male Pheromone ESP1 Enhances Male Aggressiveness in Mice
Self-Exposure to the Male Pheromone ESP1 Enhances Male Aggressiveness in Mice
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.029
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发表时间：
2016-05-09
期刊：
影响因子：
9.2
通讯作者：
Kikusui, Takefumi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hattori, Tatsuya;Osakada, Takuya;Kikusui, Takefumi
外分泌腺分泌肽1 （ESP1）是一种释放到雄性泪液中的雄性信息素，它通过滑鼻感觉系统刺激雌性小鼠的性接受行为。ESP1还在男性大脑区域诱导不同于女性的c-Fos表达。然而，男性暴露于ESP1后的行为尚未被研究。在本研究中，我们发现ESP1与不熟悉的男性尿液一起，通过特定的犁鼻受体V2Rp5增强了男性的攻击性。此外，分泌ESP1但缺乏V2Rp5的雄性小鼠比表达V2Rp5的小鼠表现出更低的攻击性。这些结果表明，ESP1不仅在两性中作为一种雄性信息素，而且还作为一种自我刺激因子，通过自我暴露增强雄性攻击性。最后，通过设计物药物特异性激活设计物受体（DREADD）的方法重新激活ESP1诱导的c- fos阳性神经元，分别导致雌性和雄性小鼠的性行为和攻击行为增强，这表明大脑中的性别二态激活是ESP1性别特异性行为反应的神经基础。
Exocrine gland-secreting peptide 1 (ESP1) released into male tear fluids is a male pheromone that stimulates sexually receptive behavior in female mice via the vomeronasal sensory system. ESP1 also induces c-Fos expression in male brain regions distinct from those in females. However, behavior in males following ESP1 exposure has not been examined. In the present study, we show that ESP1, in conjunction with unfamiliar male urine, enhances male aggression via the specific vomeronasal receptor V2Rp5. In addition, male mice that secrete ESP1 but lack V2Rp5 exhibit a lower level of aggressiveness than do mice that express V2Rp5. These results suggest that ESP1 not only acts as a male pheromone in both sexes but also serves as an auto-stimulatory factor that enhances male aggressiveness by self-exposure. Finally, re-activation of ESP1-induced c-Fos-positive neurons by using the designer receptor exclusively activated by designer drug (DREADD) approach resulted in enhancement of sexual and aggressive behaviors in female and male mice, respectively, indicating that sexually dimorphic activation in the brain is a neural basis for the sex-specific behavioral responses to ESP1.