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Cited by 52Olfactory and Sensory Function StudiesInsect Pheromone Research and ControlBiochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques

Faecal bile acids are natural ligands of the mouse accessory olfactory system

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Doyle, Wayne I., Dinser, Jordan A., Cansler, Hillary L., Zhang, Xingjian, Dinh, Daniel D., Browder, Natasha S., Riddington, Ian M., Meeks, Julian P.·2016·Nature Communications
DOI 10.1038/ncomms11936PMC PMC4919516
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Abstract

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.

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  • The murine olfactory system is capable of discriminating between male and female feces based on sex-dependent differences in the fecal composition of bile acids.

    “the murine olfactory system is capable of discriminating between male and female feces, based on sex-dependent differences in the fecal composition of bile acids (Doyle et al., 2016)”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Doyle et al., 2016

    The Results section reports that accessory olfactory bulb neurons discriminate between male and female BALB/cJ faecal extracts and identifies a sex-dependent difference in the bile acid CDCA. The Discussion says CDCA signalling *may* underlie that discrimination, while acknowledging that other ligands may contribute. The claim presents bile-acid differences as the established basis for discrimination, which goes beyond the paper's conclusion. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Some olfactory neurons fire exclusively in response to either primary or secondary bile acid application.

    “some olfactory neurons were firing exclusively in response to either primary or secondary bile acid application.”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Doyle et al., 2016

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Authors
Doyle, W. I., Dinser, J. A., Cansler, H. L., Zhang, X., Dinh, D. D., Browder, N. S., Riddington, I. M., & Meeks, J. P.
Affiliations
  • The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (US)
  • The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Corresponding author
Meeks, Julian P.
ORCID
Venue
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2016-06-21
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
11936-11936
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/ncomms11936
PMC
PMC4919516
OpenAlex
W2468548481
Cited by
52
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 1
FWCI
3.47
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • University of Texas System
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R00DC011780)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (T32NS069562)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Insect Pheromone Research and Control
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques
Keywords
accessory olfactory system, vomeronasal organ, bile acids, vomeronasal sensory neurons, pheromones, kairomones
MeSH terms
Action Potentials, Animals, Bile Acids and Salts, Feces, Female, Ligands, Male, Mice, Inbred BALB C, Neurons, Olfactory Bulb, Pheromones, Sex Factors, Tissue Culture Techniques, Mice, Single-Cell Analysis

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