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Chem. Senses 28: 609-619, 2003
© Oxford University Press 2003

Functional Characterization of Olfactory Binding Proteins for Appeasing Compounds and Molecular Cloning in the Vomeronasal Organ of Pre-pubertal Pigs

Gaëlle Guiraudie1, Patrick Pageat1, Anne-Hélène Cain2, Iltud Madec1 and Patricia Nagnan-Le Meillour2

1 Phérosynthèse SA, Le Rieu Neuf, F-84490 Saint-Saturnin-Les-Apt 2 INRA, Unité de Phytopharmacie et Médiateurs Chimiques, Route de Saint-Cyr, F-78026 Versailles Cedex, France

Correspondence to be sent to: Patricia Nagnan-Le Meillour, UMR CNRS/USTL 8576, Glycobiologie Structurale et Fonctionnelle, Bâtiment C9, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille1, F-59655 Villeneueve d’Ascq Cedex, France. e-mail: patricia.le-meillour{at}univ-lille1.fr

The appeasing behaviour of pre-pubertal pigs appears to result from the perception of maternal odours (fatty acids) and of steroids coming from the male. We have used a ligand-oriented approach to functionally characterize olfactory binding proteins involved in the detection of appeasing compounds in the nasal mucosa (NM) and the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of pre-pubertal pigs. Several proteins were identified, combining binding assay, immunodetection and protein sequencing. Their sites of expression in nasal and vomeronasal tissues were studied by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The proteins belong to the lipocalin superfamily: Alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), odorant-binding protein (OBP), salivary lipocalin (SAL) and Von Ebner’s gland protein (VEG), and displayed different binding capacities for the appeasing compounds. RT-PCR experiments showed that OBP and VEG are expressed not only in the NM, but also in the VNO and that SAL is only expressed in the VNO. This is the first report of the expression of these lipocalins in the VNO. Different binding affinities between lipocalins and appeasing compounds, together with their different localizations in the olfactory systems, suggest multiple possibilities for the peripheral coding of appeasing signals.

Key words: pig maternal pheromone, odorant-binding protein, Von Ebner’s gland protein, salivary lipocalin, steroid


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