| Title: | "Combinatorial co-expression of pheromone receptors, V2Rs" |
| Author(s): | Silvotti L; Moiani A; Gatti R; Tirindelli R; |
| Address: | "Department of Neuroscience, Section of Physiology, University of Parma, Parma, Italy" |
| DOI: | 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2007.04877.x |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1471-4159 (Electronic) 0022-3042 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Basal neurons of the vomeronasal organ of the mouse express a superfamily of about 120 pheromone receptors, named V2Rs, that are grouped in four families, A, B, C, and D, according to sequence homology. Family-A, -B, and -D V2Rs are expressed as one receptor gene per cell, but we previously reported their co-expression with family-C V2Rs. Here, we show that basal neurons can be further grouped according to the combinatorial expression of different V2Rs. Altogether, these findings suggest that in each basal neuron a transcriptional program is active for expressing a combination of two compatible receptors and for excluding, at the same time, the expression of all other V2Rs. Further analyses revealed non-random combinations of co-expression between family-C V2Rs and genes of the class Ib major histocompatibility complex. Thus, each basal neuron of the vomeronasal organ represents a highly qualified sensory unit for detecting very specific combinations of pheromonal cues" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Cloning, Molecular/methods Gene Expression/*physiology Histocompatibility Antigens Class I/metabolism In Situ Hybridization/methods Male Mice Multigene Family/physiology Neurons/*metabolism Receptors, Pheromone/classification/genetics/*metabolism;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineSilvotti, Lucia Moiani, Arianna Gatti, Rita Tirindelli, Roberto eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2007/09/15 J Neurochem. 2007 Dec; 103(5):1753-63. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2007.04877.x. Epub 2007 Sep 13" |
