RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Distinct Signals Conveyed by Pheromone Concentrations to the Mouse Vomeronasal Organ
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 7473
OP 7483
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0825-10.2010
VO 30
IS 22
A1 Jie He
A1 Limei Ma
A1 Sangseong Kim
A1 Joel Schwartz
A1 Michael Santilli
A1 Christopher Wood
A1 Michael H. Durnin
A1 C. Ron Yu
YR 2010
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/30/22/7473.abstract
AB In mammalian species, detection of pheromone cues by the vomeronasal organ (VNO) at different concentrations can elicit distinct behavioral responses and endocrine changes. It is not well understood how concentration-dependent activation of the VNO impacts innate behaviors. In this study, we find that, when mice investigate the urogenital areas of a conspecific animal, the urinary pheromones can reach the VNO at a concentration of ∼1% of that in urine. At this level, urinary pheromones elicit responses from a subset of cells that are tuned to sex-specific cues and provide unambiguous identification of the sex and strain of animals. In contrast, low concentrations of urine do not activate these cells. Strikingly, we find a population of neurons that is only activated by low concentrations of urine. The properties of these neurons are not found in neurons responding to putative single-compound pheromones. Additional analyses show that these neurons are masked by high-concentration pheromones. Thus, an antagonistic interaction in natural pheromones results in the activation of distinct populations of cells at different concentrations. The differential activation is likely to trigger different downstream circuitry and underlies the concentration-dependent pheromone perception.