| FEB1 | |
| Project ID |  FEB1 [Protein] |
| Project Theme | Structural and functional analyses of the rodent ESP family |
| Project Theme (short) | Rodent pheromone family |
| Principal Investigator | Hiroaki Terasawa |
| Affiliation | Faculty of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kumamoto University |
| Backgrounds | - Environmental deterioration caused by the increase in populations of brown rat and black rat is growing concern particularly in urban areas - Male peptide pheromone ESP1 regulates female reproductive behavior in mice - Judicious regulation of this pheromone could lead to the suppression of rodent reproduction |
| Highlights | - We have determined the structure of ESP1 and identified its receptor V2Rp5 - The region of the V2Rp5 receptor that binds with ESP1 has been identified - ESP1 was found to be released into male tear fluids |
| Outline | Various social behaviors in mice are regulated by chemical signals called pheromones that act through the vomeronasal system. We discovered exocrine gland-secreting peptide 1 (ESP1) that is released into male tear fluids and stimulates vomeronasal sensory neurons in female mice. ESP family is comprised of several tens of peptides related to ESP1. Here, we try to elucidate the molecular and neural mechanisms that are involved in the decoding of ESP family signals in the vomeronasal system, which leads to behavioral output in female mice. Since rats and wild brown rats produce ESP family peptides as well as mice, we will investigate ESP family peptides of various rodents and their vomeronasal receptors in terms of structures and functions. Agonists and antagonists for those peptides and receptors will be pursued to develop ways of controlling the population of rodents. |
| Review | Adv. Genet. Curr Opin Pharmacol J. Neurosci. |
| CSML File | FEB1.csml |