Male animals may show alternative behaviors toward infants: attack or parenting. These behaviors are triggered by pup stimuli under the influence of the internal state, including the hormonal environment and/or social experiences. Converging data suggest that the medial preoptic area (MPOA) contributes to the behavioral selection toward the pup. However, the neural mechanisms underlying how integrated stimuli affect the MPOA-dependent behavioral selection remain unclear. Here we focus on the amygdalohippocampal area (AHi) that projects to MPOA and expresses oxytocin receptor, a hormone receptor mediating social behavior toward pups. We describe the activation of MPOA-projection AHi neurons in male mice by social contact with pups. Input mapping using the TRIO method reveals that MPOA-projection AHi neurons receive prominent inputs from several regions, including the thalamus, hypothalamus, and olfactory cortex. Electrophysiological and histologic analysis demonstrates that oxytocin modulates inhibitory synaptic responses on MPOA-projection AHi neurons. In addition, AHi forms the excitatory monosynapse to MPOA, and pharmacological activation of MPOA-projection AHi neurons enhances only aggressive behavior, but not parental behavior. Interestingly, this promoted behavior was related to social experience in male mice. Collectively, our results identified a presynaptic partner of MPOA that can integrate sensory input and hormonal state, and trigger pup-directed aggression.

We investigated the luminescence properties and color tuning of [Pt(dpb)Cl] (dpbH=1,3-di(2-pyridyl)benzene) and its analogues. An almost blue emission was obtained for the complex [Pt(Fmdpb)CN] (FmdpbH=4-fluoro-1,3-di(4-methyl-2-pyridyl)benzene), modified by the introduction of F and CH3 groups to the dpb ligand and the substitution of Cl by CN. As the concentration of the solution was increased, the color of the emission varied from blue to white to orange. The color change resulted from a monomer-excimer equilibrium in the excited state. A broad emission spectrum around 620 nm was clearly detected along with a structured monomer emission around 500 nm. Upon further increases in concentration, another broad peak appeared in the longer wavelength region of the spectrum. We assigned the near-infrared band to the emission from an excited trimer generated by the reaction of the excimer with the ground-state monomer. The emission lifetimes of the monomer, dimer, and trimer were evaluated as τM =12.8 μs, τD =2.13 μs, and τT =0.68 μs, respectively, which were sufficiently long to allow association with another Pt(II) complex and dissociation into a lower order aggregate. Based on equilibrium constants determined from a kinetic study, the formation of the excimer and the excited trimer were concluded to be exothermic processes, with ΔG*D =-24.5 kJ mol(-1) and ΔG*T =-20.4 kJ mol(-1) respectively, at 300 K.

We prepared enantiomers of chiral Pt(II) complexes, Pt(pppb)Cl and Pt(pppb)CN (pppbH=1-pyridyl-3-(4,5-pinenopyridyl)benzene), and measured their CPL (circularly polarized luminescence) spectra for excimer and trimer emission. The contribution of the pinene moiety to CPL was considerably low for the π-π* emission of the monomer but large for MMLCT (metal-metal-to-ligand charge-transfer) of the excimer and trimer which had a helical structure induced in a face-to-face stacking fashion. The trimer CPL for (+)-Pt(pppb)Cl was larger in intensity than that of excimer CPL; on the other hand, that for (+)-Pt(pppb)CN was opposite in sign compared with that of excimer CPL. We conclude that differences in the excited-state structure of the aggregate between Pt(pppb)Cl and Pt(pppb)CN account for the variation in the CPL spectra. By the aid of TD-DFT calculations it was predicted that the dihedral angle θ(Cl-Pt-Pt-Cl) was 50-60° or 110-140° for Pt(pppb)Cl aggregates and 160° for Pt(pppb)CN aggregates.

Enantioselective epoxidation followed by regioselective epoxide opening reaction are the key processes in construction of the polyether skeleton. Recent genetic analysis of ionophore polyether biosynthetic gene clusters suggested that flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs) could be involved in the oxidation steps. In vivo and in vitro analyses of Lsd18, an FMO involved in the biosynthesis of polyether lasalocid, using simple olefin or truncated diene of a putative substrate as substrate mimics demonstrated that enantioselective epoxidation affords natural type mono- or bis-epoxide in a stepwise manner. These findings allow us to figure out enzymatic polyether construction in lasalocid biosynthesis.