The Suppression of Ovarian Cyclical Activity in Groups of Mice, and Its Dependence on Ovarian Hormones

Clee, M. D.; Humphreys, Elizabeth M.; Ja, Russell

doi:10.1530/jrf.0.0450395

Cited by 21 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Suppression of the ovarian-cycle activity in group-caged adult female mice has been observed in different laboratories (8,31,32). In addition, various studies (11,(33)(34)(35) showed that such caging conditions may also lead to anestrus, but that the presence of a male or male's odor tends to synchronize estrus in the female animals.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promotion of the Whitten effect in female mice by synthetic analogs of male urinary constituents.

Jemioło¹,

Harvey²,

Novotný³

1986

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

194

124

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Two volatile constituents of male mouse urine, 2-(sec-butyl)-4,5-dihydrothiazole and dehydro-exobrevicomin, were synthesized and tested for their ability to induce estrous cycle in female mice (the Whitten effect). The suppression of ovarian cycling activity that resulted from grouping the females was abolished by exposure to normal male urine. The synthetic compounds, when added together in appropriate concentrations to the (previously inactive) urine of castrated males, or even to water, were found to be as effective as normal male urine. The action of the synthetic compounds appears attenuated for singly caged females.Stimuli from the social environment (primer pheromones) have been shown to influence both the frequency and composition of the estrous cycle in the mouse Mus musculus (1-4). Induction and synchronization of estrus among unisexually grouped females in the presence of a male [the Whitten effect (1)] and the male-induced failure of implantation and return to the estrous cycle [the Bruce effect (5)] are among the best known examples of male-to-female pheromonal effects in mice. Conversely, an all-female environment tdeds to suppress the estrous cycle: the effects of female grouping vary from an extension ofthe cycle length (6, 7), or prolongation of the quiescent phase of the estrous cycle (8), to induction of spontaneous pseudopregnancies (9,10). The pheromone(s) involved in the Whitten effect are excreted in the urine of intact adult males and their production is androgen-dependent (11). The active urinary substance(s) can elicit-a variety of endocrine responses in the female mice (12-14). These male-originated substances appear to act with a high degree of specificity in altering the secretory patterns of luteinizing hormone and prolactin and of the steroids whose secretion is regulated by these two tropic hormones (15). Regulation of the ovulatory function is among the most important reproductive consequences of these hormonal processes.Although it is becoming increasingly clear that both small and large molecules can act as mammalian pheromones (16-19), the results of Whitten et al. (20) and Gangrade and Dominic (21) support the idea that an airborne (volatile) signal is responsible for the Whitten effect. Analytical methods are now sufficiently advanced to elucidate structural features of the molecules causing various pheromonal effects.During comprehensive studies of the volatile components of urine of Mus musculus (22), two structurally unique substances have been found in association with the intact male: 2-(sec-butyl)-4,5-dihydrothiazole [2-(sec-butyl)thiazoline] and dehydro-exo-brevicomin. Through organic synthetic efforts (23), adequate quantities of these, substances are now available for biological testing. In parallel with possiblb pheromonal activities, the urinary concentration of dehydroexo-brevicomin is drastically reduced following castration, but testosterone supplementation restores it to the normal level (24).As we recently found that both dehydro-exo-brevicomin and...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promotion of the Whitten effect in female mice by synthetic analogs of male urinary constituents.

Jemioło¹,

Harvey²,

Novotný³

1986

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

194

124

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“…Estrous cycle stage was not taken into account for the females, primarily because the females were fairly evenly divided between the genotypes (five DKO, six Dbh ‐KO, five Hcrt ‐KO and four WT). In addition, before the sleep recordings all the mice were group housed by sex, and group‐housed female mice have suppressed ovulation or do not cycle at all (Champlin 1971; Clee et al . 1975; Whitten 1959).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral and sleep/wake characteristics of mice lacking norepinephrine and hypocretin

Hunsley

Curtis

Palmiter

2005

Genes Brain and Behavior

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We investigated the interaction between norepinephrine (NE) and orexin/hypocretin (Hcrt) in the control of sleep behavior and narcoleptic symptoms by creating mice that were deficient in both neurotransmitters. Mice with a targeted disruption of the dopamine b-hydroxylase (Dbh) gene (deficient in NE and epinephrine) or the Hcrt gene were bred to generate double knockouts (DKOs), each single KO (Dbh-KO and Hcrt-KO), and control mice. The duration of wake, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and REM sleep were monitored by electroencephalogram (EEG)/electromyogram (EMG) recording over a 24-h period, and the occurrence of behavioral arrests was monitored by video/EEG recording for 4 h. Overall, there was very little interaction between the two genes; for most parameters that were measured, the DKO mice resembled either Dbh-KO or Hcrt-KO mice. REM sleep was increased in both DKO and Hcrt-KO mice at night relative to the other groups, but DKO mice had significantly more REM sleep during the day than the other three groups. Sleep latency in response to saline or amphetamine injections was reduced in Dbh-KO and DKO mice relative to other groups. Behavioral arrests, that are frequent in Hcrt-KO mice, were not exacerbated in DKO mice.

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“…For example, the Vandenbergh effect is caused in part by exposure to the odour of male urine, causing an increase in the release of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone in prepubertal female mice (Nelson, 2000). The pheromone involved in the Vandenbergh effect acts by lowering the concentration of leuteinising hormone and elevating prolactin levels in reproductive females to prolong the oestrous cycle (Clee, Humphreys & Russell, 1975). The pheromone involved in the Vandenbergh effect acts by lowering the concentration of leuteinising hormone and elevating prolactin levels in reproductive females to prolong the oestrous cycle (Clee, Humphreys & Russell, 1975).…”

Section: (3) Pheromonal Control Of Female Reproduction In Rodentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Lee-Boot effect may involve adrenal-mediated metabolites in the urine of group-housed females that are perceived via the vomeronasal organ (Ma, Miao & Novotny, 1998). The pheromone involved in the Vandenbergh effect acts by lowering the concentration of leuteinising hormone and elevating prolactin levels in reproductive females to prolong the oestrous cycle (Clee, Humphreys & Russell, 1975). All of these female pheromone responses are likely to enhance the lifetime reproductive success of a female.…”

Section: (3) Pheromonal Control Of Female Reproduction In Rodentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pheromonal control: reconciling physiological mechanism with signalling theory

2014

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Pheromones are intraspecific chemical signals. They can have profound effects on the behaviour and/or physiology of the receiver, and it is still common to hear pheromones described as controlling of the behaviour of the receiver. The discussion of pheromonal control arose initially from a close association between hormones and pheromones in the comparative physiological literature, but the concept of a controlling pheromone is at odds with contemporary signal evolution theory, which predicts that a manipulative pheromonal signal negatively affecting the receiver's fitness should not be stable over evolutionary time. Here we discuss the meaning of pheromonal control, and the ecological circumstances by which it might be supported. We argue that in discussing pheromonal control it is important to differentiate between control applied to the effects of a pheromone on a receiver's physiology (proximate control), and control applied to the effects of a pheromone on a receiver's fitness (ultimate control). Critically, a pheromone signal affecting change in the receiver's behaviour or physiology need not necessarily manipulate the fitness of a receiver. In cases where pheromonal signalling does lead to a reduction in the fitness of the receiver, the signalling system would be stable if the pheromone were an honest signal of a social environment that disadvantages the receiver, and the physiological and behavioural changes observed in the receiver were an adaptive response to the new social circumstances communicated by the pheromone.

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The Suppression of Ovarian Cyclical Activity in Groups of Mice, and Its Dependence on Ovarian Hormones

Cited by 21 publications

References 10 publications

Promotion of the Whitten effect in female mice by synthetic analogs of male urinary constituents.

Promotion of the Whitten effect in female mice by synthetic analogs of male urinary constituents.

Behavioral and sleep/wake characteristics of mice lacking norepinephrine and hypocretin

Pheromonal control: reconciling physiological mechanism with signalling theory

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