GnRH neurons in the mouse olfactory bulb shown to translate socially relevant odors into male reproductive behavior

Gonadotropins are crucial hormones that are responsible for the development of male and female reproductive organs, including ovaries and testes. These hormones are known to be central regulators of reproductive health, as they support processes such as ovulation, sperm production and sexual development.

Researchers at the School of Medicine in Lille (France) Labex DistAlz and other institutes in Europe recently carried out a study on mice aimed at better understanding how GnRH neurons contribute to reproduction. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that GnRH neurons in the olfactory bulb of adult male mice translate socially relevant odors into reproductive behaviors.

“We show that GnRH neurons in the olfactory bulb (GnRH^OB) of adult mice can mediate social recognition,” Laurine Decoster, Sara Trova and their colleagues wrote in their paper.

“Specifically, we show that GnRH^OB neurons extend neurites into the vomeronasal organ and olfactory epithelium and project to the median eminence. GnRH^OB neurons in males express vomeronasal and olfactory receptors, are activated by female odors and mediate gonadotropin release in response to female urine.”

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