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Updated: Sep 21, 2025

In-depth Physiological Analysis of Defined Cell Populations in Acute Tissue Slices of the Mouse Vomeronasal Organ
Published on: September 10, 2016
A single vomeronasal receptor promotes intermale aggression through dedicated hypothalamic neurons
Takumi Itakura1, Ken Murata1, Kazunari Miyamichi1
1Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
Abstract:
The pheromonal information received by the vomeronasal system plays a crucial role in regulating social behaviors such as aggression in mice. Despite accumulating knowledge of the brain regions involved in aggression, the specific vomeronasal receptors and the exact neural circuits responsible for pheromone-mediated aggression remain unknown. Here, we identified one murine vomeronasal receptor, Vmn2r53, that is activated by urine from males of various strains and is responsible for evoking intermale aggression. We prepared a purified pheromonal fraction and Vmn2r53 knockout mice and applied genetic tools for neuronal activity recording, manipulation, and circuit tracing to decipher the neural mechanisms underlying Vmn2r53-mediated aggression. We found that Vmn2r53-mediated aggression is regulated by specific neuronal populations in the ventral premammillary nucleus and the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. Together, our results shed light on the hypothalamic regulation of male aggression mediated by a single vomeronasal receptor.
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