Pheromonally induced release of luteinizing hormone in male mice: involvement of the vomeronasal system

“The substances released by mammals often profoundly alter the reproductive processes of the individuals exposed to the stimuli (see reviews in Doty, 1976, and Vandenbergh, 1983).”

“In male rats, an olfactory cue from a decidedly non-female originodor of wintergreen-has been shown by Graham and Desjardins (1980) to cause a neuroendocrine reflex when the conditioned stimulus previously had been associated with females in a sexual context.”

“Mediation of primer responses by the vomeronasal system in male mice is likely, given the neuroendocrine reflexes that are stimulated by females or by the urine of females (Macrides et al., 1975; Maruniak and Bronson, 1976).”

“Thus, excision of the VNO from 10 males virtually eliminated its afferent projections to the accessory olfactory bulb, whereas the projections of the VNO remained intact in the 12 mice receiving sham surgeries (see Clancy et al., 1984, for further details).”

“This function of the vomeronasal system in male ,mice seems analogous to its clearly documented role in the responses of female mice to pheromones (Reynolds and Keverne, 1979; Bellringer et al., 1980; Kaneko et al., 1980).”

“Furthermore, the vomeronasal system is involved in the ultrasonic vocalizations evoked in male mice by female odors and in the agonistic and copulatory behaviors of male mice, all of which are responses to signaling pheromones (Wysocki et al., 1982; Clancy et al., 1984).”

“Transfusion of this substitute previously has been documented to sustain mice during extended periods of blood sampling (Coquelin and Bronson, 1981; Coquelin and Desjardins, 1982).”

“T. J. McManus. and W. A. Scheitlin (1957) A citrate-phosphate-dextrose solution for the preservation of human blood.”

“Mediation of primer responses by the vomeronasal system in male mice is likely, given the neuroendocrine reflexes that are stimulated by females or by the urine of females (Macrides et al., 1975; Maruniak and Bronson, 1976).”

“Interrupting vomeronasal afferents eliminates the acceleration of puberty in juvenile females, the suppression of estrous cyclicity in females housed in groups, and the blockade of pregnancy by exposure to unfamiliar males, all of which are responses to priming pheromones in mice (Reynolds and Keverne, 1979; Bellringe…”

“In fact, ablation of the VNO in male mice recently has been reported to prevent the elevation of circulating testosterone levels which follows presentation of an anesthetized female (Wysocki et al., 1983).”

“From sensory receptors in the vomeronasal organ (VNO), the vomeronasal system projects multisynaptically to the medial amygdaloid nucleus and posteromedial cortical amygdaloid area, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the medial preoptic area, and the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (Scalia and Winans, 1…”

“Thus, although this result does not invalidate the basic concept of an all-or-nothing episode of LH release (Coquelin and Bronson, 1980), the durations of individual secretory episodes or hormonal disappearance rates may be influenced to some extent by sensory and/or behavioral variables (cf.…”

“…experienced males to release LH reliably after exposure to a behaviorally active female, but the presence of the VNO is important for the urine of females to evoke the hormonal response. sodium heparin and 5% citrate/phosphate/dextrose solution added (Gibson et al., 1957, 1961; Hink et al., 1957).”

“Transfusion of this substitute previously has been documented to sustain mice during extended periods of blood sampling (Coquelin and Bronson, 1981; Coquelin and Desjardins, 1982).”

“Experimental Design Chemosensory inputs have been reported in a number of rodent species to modulate the activity of LHRHexpressing neurons (Coquelin et al., 1984; Richardson et al., 2004).”

“Seminal studies by Coquelin and coworkers (8, 9) and Kokoris et al (10) were the first to define the pulsatile patterns of LH secretion in the adult male mouse, and subsequent studies have provided similar information for adult female mice (11, 12).”