Endocrine Abstracts

Fertilization is still one of the nature’s best-kept secrets. Despite a century of research we still lack a comprehensive understanding how mammalian sperm cells navigate inside the female body, locate, and finally fertilize the egg. More than a decade ago, the unexpected finding of olfactory receptor expression in human testicular tissue led to speculation about a potential role of these chemoreceptors in various aspects of mature sperm behavior, especially sperm chemota...

The neuronal processing of pheromone signals within distinctive brain structures leads to marked changes in animal behaviour and endocrine status. The highly reproducible and species-specific character of the response to pheromones offers a unique opportunity to uncover the neural basis of genetically pre-programmed behaviours. Molecular and genetic investigation of the mechanisms underlying pheromone pheromone-evoked responses in the mouse nose and brain have revealed a neura...

According to the original definition, pheromones are substances released by an individual that have definite behavioural or physiological effects on another individual of the same species. For example, male mouse urine contains a complex mixture of chemosignals, some of which, such as brevicomin and thiazole are testosterone-dependent and signal the presence of a reproductively active male. These have powerful effects as releaser pheromones to elicit aggression from other male...

Taste is an overriding determinant of food choice and leads to the development of preferences impacting on nutrition and eventually health. To investigate the molecular basis of gustation and its link to nutritional behaviour, we isolated all 25 members of the human bitter taste receptor gene family, TAS2Rs, and established their expression profile on the tongue. Using functional assays we identified the cognate bitter compounds for ∼half of the encoded receptors. Our da...