title: Female puberty acceleration by male odour in mice: neural pathway and behavioural consequences.
abstract: In female mice, exposure to male chemosignals results in early puberty onset characterized by advanced vaginal opening and higher uterine weight. Evidence suggests that the male chemosignals responsible for acceleration of female puberty are androgen-dependent, but not all of the compounds that contribute to puberty acceleration have been identified. The male chemosignals are primarily detected and processed by the vomeronasal system including the vomeronasal organ, the accessory olfactory bulb and the medial amygdala. By contrast, the mechanism by which this olfactory information is integrated in the hypothalamus is poorly understood. In this context, the recent identification of the neuropeptide kisspeptin as a gatekeeper of puberty onset may provide a good candidate neuropeptide system for the transmission of chemosensory information to the gonadotrope axis.
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jouhanneau
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Szymanski
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D066276:Corticomedial Nuclear Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D009812:Odorants; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000378:metabolism; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D011627:Puberty / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012741:Sexual Maturation / Q000502:physiology*; D019147:Vomeronasal Organ / Q000378:metabolism