Separation and purification of new physiologically active substances in female rats' urine, and identification of the activated neuron due to the active substances in central nervous system

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K06943
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 46030:Function of nervous system-related
• Research Institution: Iwate Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Akutsu Hitomi 岩手医科大学, 医学部, 助教 (30398482)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 加茂 政晴 岩手医科大学, 歯学部, 研究員 (40214564)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 尿中フェロモン / 生理活性物質 / 雌ラット / 発情前期尿 / 行動試験 / 免疫組織化学 / 神経回路

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Pheromone communication is an important element to provide a motivation for expression a sexual behavior in many mammals, vomeronasal organ is a specific organ to receive pheromones. In present study, we tried to identify the pheromone effect which derived from female rats' urine on the natural behavior of the adult male rats and to visualize the neural circuit involved in the behavioral manifestation. When the free moving adult male rats were exposed to proestrous urine or diestrous urine derived from adult female rats, they represented sniffing and nibbling as the exploration behavior. The duration of the behavior tended to be longer for proestrous urine. The active substances in female rats' urine or the activated neural circuit has remained unknown, it was suggested that proestrous urine might be more attractive for male rats than diestrous urine.

Free Research Field

神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

フェロモン研究は雄マウスを対象として著しい発展を見せているが、雌ラット尿中に雄ラットを引き付ける生理活性物質が存在することを示した本研究は、フェロモンコミュニケーションが動物種ごとに独自のフェロモン分子を用いて営まれていることを示し、種を維持するための繁殖戦略に不可欠な役割を持つことを示唆した。