Mammalian Reproductive Pheromone : Isolation and Study on Central Action.

本研究旨在探讨哺乳动物生殖信息素的产生、感知和脑刺激机制。(1)信息素产生：用睾酮（T）、双氢睾酮（DHT）和雌二醇（Eatradiol）皮下埋植去势雄柴山羊，观察其对雄性信息素产生和皮脂腺发育的影响。雄激素诱导的皮脂腺发育仅限于头部区域，而信息素的产生不仅在头部，而且在臀部区域观察到以下DHT治疗的结果表明，信息素的生产不一定伴随着皮脂腺发育暗示存在独立的调节机制，这两个反应。(2)信息素感知：制备了大鼠信息素受体的多克隆抗体，免疫组化分析显示其定位于犁鼻神经的微绒毛上。基于编码大鼠推定的信息素受体的基因序列，在山羊中检测了2型同源基因的表达，但没有1型家族。此外，对G蛋白α亚基的分析表明，Gi2和Go在啮齿动物物种中的不同区域特异性定位对于其他物种如山羊、马、狗和绒猴不是这种情况。(3)脑刺激：将记录电极置于去势山羊下丘脑内侧基底部，记录特定的MUA放电，以监测GnRH脉冲发生器活动的电生理表现。暴露于信息素导致GnRH脉冲发生器活性的立即加速，并且效果的持续时间与暴露时间良好地对应。因此，在实时的基础上，证明了引物信息素的中枢作用。

The purpose of the present study was to characterize the mechanisms of production, perception and brain stimulation of mammalian reproductive pheromones.(1) Pheromone production : castrated male Shiba goats were subcutaneously implanted with testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or eatradiol, and the effects on the production of male pheromone and on the development of sebaceous glands were examined. Androgen-induced sebaceous gland development was limited to the head region, whereas pheromone production was observed not only in the head but also in the rump region following DHT treatment The results suggest that pheromone production is not necessarily accompanied by sebaceous gland development implicating the existence of independent regulatory mechanisms for these two responses.(2) Pheromone perception : polyclonal antibody was produced against rat-pheromone receptor, and immunohistochemical analysis with it revealed the localization on the microvilli of vomeronasal nerves. Based on the sequence of genes encoding rat putative pheromone receptors the homologue genes were examined in the goat which identified the expression of type 2 homologue genes but not the type 1 family. Moreover, the analysis of G protein alpha subunits showed that the distinct region specific localization of Gi2 and Go in rodent species was not the case for other species such as goats, horses, dogs and marmosets.(3) Brain stimulation: Recording electrodes were placed in the medial basal hypothalamus of ovariectomized goats, and the specific MUA volleys were recorded to monitor the electrophysiological manifestation of the GnRH pulse generator activity. The exposure to the pheromone resulted in the immediate acceleration of the GnRH pulse generator activity and the duration of the effect corresponded well with the time of exposure. The central action of primer pheromone was thus demonstrated neurophysiologically on the real-time basis.