Odorant and pheromone binding by aphrodisin, a hamster aphrodisiac protein

FEBS Lett. 2000 Jul 7;476(3):179-85. doi: 10.1016/s0014-5793(00)01719-1.

Abstract

Aphrodisin is a soluble glycoprotein of hamster vaginal discharges, which stimulates male copulatory behavior. Natural aphrodisin was purified and its post-translational modifications characterized by MALDI-MS peptide mapping. To evaluate its ability to bind small volatile ligands, the aphrodisiac protein was expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris as two major isoforms differing in their glycosylation degree, but close in conformation to the natural protein. Dimeric recombinant aphrodisins were equally able to efficiently bind odors (2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine and methyl thiobutyrate) and a pheromone (dimethyl disulfide), suggesting that they could act as pheromone carriers instead of, or in addition to, direct vomeronasal neuron receptor activators.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cricetinae
  • Female
  • Male
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Mesocricetus
  • Odorants
  • Pheromones / chemistry
  • Pheromones / genetics
  • Pheromones / metabolism*
  • Pichia / genetics
  • Protein Binding
  • Proteins / chemistry
  • Proteins / genetics
  • Proteins / metabolism*
  • Recombinant Proteins / chemistry
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • Sex Attractants / chemistry
  • Sex Attractants / genetics
  • Sex Attractants / metabolism*
  • Vagina / metabolism

Substances

  • Pheromones
  • Proteins
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Sex Attractants
  • aphrodisin protein, Mesocricetus auratus