Transcriptomic and Proteomic Profiling Revealed High Proportions of Odorant Binding and Antimicrobial Defense Proteins in Olfactory Tissues of the House Mouse

Mammalian tears are produced by lacrimal glands to protect eyes and to function in chemical communication and immunity. However, excess tears flow through nasolacrimal ductsto nasal tissues, and via the nasopharyngeal duct to the oral cavity where digestion starts. Tears contain soluble proteins that attack pathogens, as well as proteins from the lipocalin family that – with their capacity to transport volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in their eight-stranded beta barrel – are involved in sexual signalling and may also transport toxic VOCs towards digestion. Therefore, we generated the tear proteome of the wild-living house mouse (Mus musculus musculus) and detected a total of 719 proteins in tears with 20% being sexually dimorphic. Those proteins that showed the most elevated sexual dimorphisms are VOC transporters from the recently discovered odorant binding protein (OBP), and major urinary protein (MUP) families, thus demonstrating that tears have the potential to elicit sex-specific signals in combination with different lipocalins. Moreover, some tear lipocalins are non-dimorphic – with MUP20/Darcin, LCN11, and LCN13 being good examples – thus suggesting that they are involved in other biological processes besides sexual signalling.

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On the tear proteome of the house mouse (Mus musculus musculus) in relation to chemical signalling

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.3541 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. e3541 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Romana Stopkova ◽

Petr Klempt ◽

Barbora Kuntova ◽

Pavel Stopka

Keyword(s):

House Mouse ◽

Mus Musculus ◽

Sexually Dimorphic ◽

Sexual Dimorphisms ◽

Major Urinary Proteins ◽

Mus Musculus Musculus ◽

Chemical Signalling ◽

Males And Females ◽

Secreted Peptides ◽

Odorant Binding

Mammalian tears are produced by lacrimal glands to protect eyes and may function in chemical communication and immunity. Recent studies on the house mouse chemical signalling revealed that major urinary proteins (MUPs) are not individually unique inMus musculus musculus. This fact stimulated us to look for other sexually dimorphic proteins that may—in combination with MUPs—contribute to a pool of chemical signals in tears. MUPs and other lipocalins including odorant binding proteins (OBPs) have the capacity to selectively transport volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in their eight-stranded beta barrel, thus we have generated the tear proteome of the house mouse to detect a wider pool of proteins that may be involved in chemical signalling. We have detected significant male-biased (7.8%) and female-biased (7%) proteins in tears. Those proteins that showed the most elevated sexual dimorphisms were highly expressed and belong to MUP, OBP, ESP (i.e., exocrine gland-secreted peptides), and SCGB/ABP (i.e., secretoglobin) families. Thus, tears may have the potential to elicit sex-specific signals in combination by different proteins. Some tear lipocalins are not sexually dimorphic—with MUP20/darcin and OBP6 being good examples—and because all proteins may flow with tears through nasolacrimal ducts to nasal and oral cavities we suggest that their roles are wider than originally thought. Also, we have also detected several sexually dimorphic bactericidal proteins, thus further supporting an idea that males and females may have adopted alternative strategies in controlling microbiota thus yielding different VOC profiles.

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Dual roles of tear lipocalins as ‘chemical signalling’ and ‘toxic waste disposal’ systems of the house mouse

10.7287/peerj.preprints.2702v1 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Pavel Stopka ◽

Petr Klempt ◽

Barbora Kuntova ◽

Romana Stopkova

Keyword(s):

House Mouse ◽

Toxic Waste ◽

Sexually Dimorphic ◽

Dual Roles ◽

Sexual Dimorphisms ◽

Mus Musculus Musculus ◽

Chemical Signalling ◽

Sexual Signalling ◽

Flow Through ◽

Odorant Binding

Mammalian tears are produced by lacrimal glands to protect eyes and to function in chemical communication and immunity. However, excess tears flow through nasolacrimal ductsto nasal tissues, and via the nasopharyngeal duct to the oral cavity where digestion starts. Tears contain soluble proteins that attack pathogens, as well as proteins from the lipocalin family that – with their capacity to transport volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in their eight-stranded beta barrel – are involved in sexual signalling and may also transport toxic VOCs towards digestion. Therefore, we generated the tear proteome of the wild-living house mouse (Mus musculus musculus) and detected a total of 719 proteins in tears with 20% being sexually dimorphic. Those proteins that showed the most elevated sexual dimorphisms are VOC transporters from the recently discovered odorant binding protein (OBP), and major urinary protein (MUP) families, thus demonstrating that tears have the potential to elicit sex-specific signals in combination with different lipocalins. Moreover, some tear lipocalins are non-dimorphic – with MUP20/Darcin, LCN11, and LCN13 being good examples – thus suggesting that they are involved in other biological processes besides sexual signalling.

Download Full-text