Murine vaginal secretory responses to a male volatile chemical messenger.

ABSTRACT: Many species use chemical messengers to communicate a remarkable range of information. Mice appear to make particular use of chemical messengers, including effects on estrous cycling and initiation, pregnancy, aggression, stress and of course attraction. Behavioral studies have helped identify several candidate messengers, or pheromones, that mediate attraction in mice. One question is whether attractive chemical messengers induced a physical vaginal secretory response. The preparation hypothesis posits that increased vaginal secretion would lubricate and protect the vagina in response to the prospect of imminent coitus, but this has been difficult to assess experimentally, particularly in mice. We developed a rapid, sensitive, minimally invasive method of quantifying vaginal moisture in m

SUBMITTER: Murataeva N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11557582 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature