Sexual rejection via a vomeronasal receptor-triggered limbic circuit.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30367054.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-07003-5 and PMC identifier 6203846.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Mating drive is balanced by a need to safeguard resources for offspring, yet the neural basis for negative regulation of mating remains poorly understood. In rodents, pheromones critically regulate sexual behavior. Here, we observe suppression of adult female sexual behavior in mice by exocrine gland-secreting peptide 22 (ESP22), a lacrimal protein from juvenile mice. ESP22 activates a dedicated vomeronasal receptor, V2Rp4, and V2Rp4 knockout eliminates ESP22 effects on sexual behavior. Genetic tracing of ESP22-responsive neural circuits reveals a critical limbic system connection that inhibits reproductive behavior. Furthermore, V2Rp4 counteracts a highly related vomeronasal receptor, V2Rp5, that detects the male sex pheromone ESP1. Interestingly, V2Rp4 and V2Rp5 are encoded by adjacent genes, yet couple to distinct circuits and mediate opposing effects on female sexual behavior. Collectively, our study reveals molecular and neural mechanisms underlying pheromone-mediated sexual rejection, and more generally, how inputs are routed through olfactory circuits to evoke specific behaviors.
Medical subject headings
- Limbic System
- Pheromones
- Receptors, Pheromone
- Sexual Behavior, Animal
- Vomeronasal Organ