Female puberty onset, acceleration

These results closely resemble those obtained with whole adult male urine as a stimulus (see Section 1.1), in tests of attractiveness performed on adult and prepubertal animals of both sexes. Both male urine and MUPs in native conformation (that is, with ligands bound to the inner hydrophobic binding site) are attractive to adult females and repulsive for adult male mice, while prepubertal animals show the opposite behaviors males are more attracted than females. Control experiments performed with prepubertal male urine did not induce these effects (Mucignat-Caretta, unpublished observations). We think that the subset of urinary odorants bound by MUPs is sufficient to signal the presence of an adult male mouse and to trigger behavioral responses. At variance with these effects, puberty onset acceleration in female mice is not induced by either the two major volatile compounds (Novotny, Jemiolo Harvey, 1990 pag. 5) typical of adult male mouse urine. 

Mucignat-Caretta C., Caretta A. and Cavaggioni A. (1995). Acceleration of puberty onset in female mice by male urinary proteins. J Physiol 486, 517-522. 

A common estrogen mimic called bisphenol A is found in the lining of food and beverage containers and in dental resins. It leaches into human food and into the surrounding environment. Female mice pnps whose mothers were fed bisphenol A during pregnancy were found to have accelerated puberty onset. The effects of this compound were modulated by their fetal exposure to uterine testosterone (Vandenbergh, 2003). 

Mice are able actively to seek or avoid priming pheromones that modulate their ovarian cycle and onset of puberty. Peripubertal female mice avoid the urine odor of adult males, known to accelerate puberty in females, and are more attracted to the odor of grouped adult females. This behavior is particularly effective because the active space of the (almost) non-volatile male pheromone is small, and prolonged exposure is required for the effect to occur (Coppola and O Connell, 1988). Likewise, prepubertal female mice do not urinate near urine marks of adult males, while grouped, estrous, and diestrous adult females do. Such behavior may help young females to avoid exposure to male odors until they reach puberty. This way they would be protected from mating too early, and their eventual reproductive success would be enhanced (Drickamer, 1989a). 

Puberty Accelerated onset of puberty in female mice and rats cannot be obtained upon exposure to male chemosignals. 

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