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Chem. Senses 29: 425-430, 2004
Chemical Senses Vol. 29 No. 5 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved

Natural Ligands of Hamster Aphrodisin

Loïc Briand1, Florence Blon1, Didier Trotier2 and Jean-Claude Pernollet2

1 Biochimie de l’Olfaction et de la Gustation, Neurobiologie de l’Olfaction et de la Prise Alimentaire, bâtiment 526, INRA, Domaine de Vilvert, F-78352 Jouy-en-Josas Cedex, France and 2 Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Sensorielle, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, CNRS, 1 avenue des Olympiades, F-91305 Massy, France

Correspondence to be send to: J.-C. Pernollet, Neurobiologie de l’Olfaction et de la Prise Alimentaire, bâtiment 526, Domaine de Vilvert, F-78352, Jouy-en-Josas Cedex, France, Tel: 33 1 34 65 27 50; Fax: 33 1 34 65 27 65; E-mail: pernolle{at}jouy.inra.fr

The chemical nature of vertebrate pheromones remains largely to be deciphered. Hamster aphrodisin is a rare instance of mammal proteinaceous sexual pheromone. This protein, found in vaginal secretions, facilitates the mounting behaviour of males via activation of a specialized sensory structure named the vomeronasal organ, which activates the accessory olfactory bulb. Since it might carry small pheromonal ligands due to its lipocalin structure, we analysed organic extracts from natural aphrodisin. We identified five predominant compounds specifically bound onto natural aphrodisin as 1-hexadecanol (44.7%), 1-octadecanol (19.5%), Z-9-octadecen-1-ol (18.2%), E-9-octadecen-1-ol (15.4%) and hexadecanoic acid (2.2%). Interestingly, these compounds are also described as part of insect pheromone blends, disclosing the continuing story of amazing coincidences of chemical communication shared by mammals and insects.

Key words: aphrodisin, hamster, pheromone, vaginal secretion, vomeronasal organ


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