Major urinary proteins(MUPs)have been proven to be non-volatile male pheromones in mice.Here,we aimed to elucidate the relationship between MUPs and dominance hierarchy,and the underlying molecular mechanisms.Dominanc...Major urinary proteins(MUPs)have been proven to be non-volatile male pheromones in mice.Here,we aimed to elucidate the relationship between MUPs and dominance hierarchy,and the underlying molecular mechanisms.Dominance–submission relationship was established by chronic dyadic encountering.We found that at the urinary protein level and hepatic mRNA level,the expression of major MUPs,including Mup20,was enhanced in dominant males compared with subordinate males,indicating that MUPs might signal the social status of male mice.Meanwhile,the mRNA level of hepatic corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 2(CRHR2)was higher in subordinate male mice than in dominant male mice.Castration also enhanced the expression of CRHR2,but suppressed that of MUPs.CRHR2 agonist treatment reduced the expression of MUPs in liver.However,male social status failed to exert significant influence on serum testosterone and corticosterone as well as the mRNA expression of their receptors.These findings reveal that some MUPs,especially Mup20,might constitute potential dominance pheromones and could be downregulated by hepatic CRHR2,which is possibly independent of androgen or corticosterone systems.展开更多
基金This work was supported by grants from the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB11010400)the China National Science Foundation(31301887)+1 种基金the Foundation of State Key Laboratory of IPM(ChineseIPM1403)We especially thank Jinhua Zhang for assistance with animal care,sample collecting and surgery。
文摘Major urinary proteins(MUPs)have been proven to be non-volatile male pheromones in mice.Here,we aimed to elucidate the relationship between MUPs and dominance hierarchy,and the underlying molecular mechanisms.Dominance–submission relationship was established by chronic dyadic encountering.We found that at the urinary protein level and hepatic mRNA level,the expression of major MUPs,including Mup20,was enhanced in dominant males compared with subordinate males,indicating that MUPs might signal the social status of male mice.Meanwhile,the mRNA level of hepatic corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 2(CRHR2)was higher in subordinate male mice than in dominant male mice.Castration also enhanced the expression of CRHR2,but suppressed that of MUPs.CRHR2 agonist treatment reduced the expression of MUPs in liver.However,male social status failed to exert significant influence on serum testosterone and corticosterone as well as the mRNA expression of their receptors.These findings reveal that some MUPs,especially Mup20,might constitute potential dominance pheromones and could be downregulated by hepatic CRHR2,which is possibly independent of androgen or corticosterone systems.
