title: Vomeronasal organ-mediated induction of fos in the central accessory olfactory pathways in repetitively mated female rats.
abstract: Removal of the VNO significantly reduced the enhancement of lordosis and the induction of fos immunoreactivity in luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) neurons in ovariectomized estrogen-primed rats. There was a significant positive correlation between the two variables. In the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) of the repetitively mated rats, the number of fos-positive cells in the granule (G) cell layer was significantly lower in the VNO-removed rats, whereas that in the mitral (M) cell layer was not significantly different between VNO-removed and VNO-sham females. The G/M ratio (calculated by dividing the mean number of fos-positive cells in the G cell layer by that in the M cell layer), taken as an estimate of the output of the AOB, was relatively larger in the VN-sham as compared with the VNO-removed rats. There were significant positive correlations between G/M ratio and the increase in LQ and between the G/M ratio and the percentage of fos-positive LHRH cells. The positive correlation between the number of fos-positive cells in the posterodorsal medial amygdala (PDMA) and the increase in LQ and that between the number of fos-positive cells in the PDMA and the percentage of fos-positive LHRH cells were significant, supporting the role of the medial nucleus of amygdala in lordosis. However, the correlation between G/M ratio and the number of fos-positive cells in the PDMA was not significant, indicating that fos immunoreactivity in the PDMA is not directly related to that in the AOB.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, TX 75235-9040.
authors.forename: G V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Rajendren
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Moss
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D003307:Copulation; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000502:physiology*; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000378:metabolism*; D010052:Ovariectomy; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone