Bile, prolactin, and the maternal pheromone.
When bile from females that had been lactating for 21 days was injected into the cecum of male rats it induced release of a maternal pheromone. Males injected with bile drawn from females in which prolactin had been inhibited, or from females that had been lactating for only 5 days, did not emit the pheromone. These data suggest a sex difference in the way prolactin alters the composition of bile so that the female can emit the maternal pheromone while the male normally cannot.
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D001646:Bile / Q000502:physiology*; D002432:Cecum / Q000378:metabolism*; D004873:Ergolines / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007774:Lactation; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D010675:Pheromones / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011388:Prolactin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
D004873:Ergolines; D010675:Pheromones; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D011388:Prolactin