« Previous AbstractFunctional characterization of olfactory receptors in the Oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis that respond to plant volatiles    Next Abstract"The Chemical Basis of Species, Sex, and Individual Recognition Using Feces in the Domestic Cat" »

Chem Biol

Title:		"A major urinary protein of the domestic cat regulates the production of felinine, a putative pheromone precursor"
Author(s):		Miyazaki M; Yamashita T; Suzuki Y; Saito Y; Soeta S; Taira H; Suzuki A;
Address:		"Sphingolipid Expression Laboratory, RIKEN Frontier Research System, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan"
Journal Title:		Chem Biol
Year:		2006
Volume:		13
Issue:		10
Page Number:		1071 - 1079
DOI:		10.1016/j.chembiol.2006.08.013
ISSN/ISBN:		1074-5521 (Print) 1074-5521 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Domestic cats spray urine with species-specific odor for territorial marking. Felinine (2-amino-7-hydroxy-5,5-dimethyl-4-thiaheptanoic acid), a putative pheromone precursor, is excreted in cat urine. Here, we report that cauxin, a carboxylesterase excreted as a major urinary component, regulates felinine production. In vitro enzyme assays indicated that cauxin hydrolyzed the felinine precursor 3-methylbutanol-cysteinylglycine to felinine and glycine. Cauxin and felinine were excreted age dependently after 3 months of age. The age-dependent increases in cauxin and felinine excretion were significantly correlated. In mature cats, cauxin and felinine levels were sex-dependently correlated and were higher in males than in females. In headspace gas of cat urine, 3-mercapto-3-methyl-1-butanol, 3-mercapto-3-methylbutyl formate, 3-methyl-3-methylthio-1-butanol, and 3-methyl-3-(2-methyldisulfanyl)-1-butanol were identified as candidates for felinine derivatives. These findings demonstrate that cauxin-dependent felinine production is a cat-specific metabolic pathway, and they provide information for the biosynthetic mechanisms of species-specific molecules in mammals"
Keywords:		Animals Carboxylesterase/*metabolism/urine Cats Cysteine/*analogs & derivatives/biosynthesis/chemistry/urine Dipeptides/chemistry/*metabolism/urine Female Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Hydrogen-Ion Concentration Male Molecular Sequence Data Molecul;
Notes:		"MedlineMiyazaki, Masao Yamashita, Tetsuro Suzuki, Yusuke Saito, Yoshihiro Soeta, Satoshi Taira, Hideharu Suzuki, Akemi eng Comparative Study Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2006/10/21 Chem Biol. 2006 Oct; 13(10):1071-9. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2006.08.013"