Female mice deficient in alpha-fetoprotein show female-typical neural responses to conspecific-derived pheromones.

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  • Author(s): Brock O;Brock O; Keller M; Douhard Q; Bakker J
  • Source:
    PloS one [PLoS One] 2012; Vol. 7 (6), pp. e39204. Date of Electronic Publication: 2012 Jun 15.
  • Publication Type:
    Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Public Library of Science Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101285081 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1932-6203 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19326203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: PLoS One Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: San Francisco, CA : Public Library of Science
    • Subject Terms:
      Sexual Behavior, Animal*; Sex Attractants/*physiology ; alpha-Fetoproteins/*physiology; Animals ; Female ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; alpha-Fetoproteins/genetics
    • Abstract:
      The neural mechanisms controlling sexual behavior are sexually differentiated by the perinatal actions of sex steroid hormones. We recently observed using female mice deficient in alpha-fetoprotein (AFP-KO) and which lack the protective actions of AFP against maternal estradiol, that exposure to prenatal estradiol completely defeminized the potential to show lordosis behavior in adulthood. Furthermore, AFP-KO females failed to show any male-directed mate preferences following treatment with estradiol and progesterone, indicating a reduced sexual motivation to seek out the male. In the present study, we asked whether neural responses to male- and female-derived odors are also affected in AFP-KO female mice. Therefore, we compared patterns of Fos, the protein product of the immediate early gene, c-fos, commonly used as a marker of neuronal activation, between wild-type (WT) and AFP-KO female mice following exposure to male or estrous female urine. We also tested WT males to confirm the previously observed sex differences in neural responses to male urinary odors. Interestingly, AFP-KO females showed normal, female-like Fos responses, i.e. exposure to urinary odors from male but not estrous female mice induced equivalent levels of Fos protein in the accessory olfactory pathways (e.g. the medial part of the preoptic nucleus, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, the amygdala, and the lateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus) as well as in the main olfactory pathways (e.g. the piriform cortex and the anterior cortical amygdaloid nucleus), as WT females. By contrast, WT males did not show any significant induction of Fos protein in these brain areas upon exposure to either male or estrous female urinary odors. These results thus suggest that prenatal estradiol is not involved in the sexual differentiation of neural Fos responses to male-derived odors.
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    • Grant Information:
      R01 HD044897 United States HD NICHD NIH HHS; NICHD - HD044897 United States PHS HHS
    • Accession Number:
      0 (Sex Attractants)
      0 (alpha-Fetoproteins)
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20120622 Date Completed: 20121213 Latest Revision: 20211021
    • Publication Date:
      20231215
    • Accession Number:
      PMC3376129
    • Accession Number:
      10.1371/journal.pone.0039204
    • Accession Number:
      22720075