Is life conceivable
without chemotaxis ?
Dr. habil. Kőhidai László
2011.
Trichinella spiralis (1)
200 - 400
+
+
20 - 80
Trichinella (2)
<
+
+
Trichinella (3)
+
+
+
Insects (1)

Responses to pheromones: in sec.-s
- direction of flying
- speed
- pattern (zick-zack)

Modulation of odorant receptors is durable
1-2 min. - 20-95 min.
ipsenol, ipsdienol, cis-verbenol

Dose ranges of responses are wide
Insects (2)

Heat-dependent responses
20 oC
+
steepness of flying
26 oC

Different types of migrations/flying:
schemakinezis
tropotaxis
klinotaxis
zikk-zakk
look-leap
Insects (3)

Cockroach
pheromones inducing aggregation
ammónia, methylamine, di-, trimethylamine
1-dimethylamino-2-methyl-2-propanol effective in 10 pM
(50-1000x more active then other substances)

Differences in responses to diffuse and surface associated
pheromones
Effect of gamones
Coagulation
Gynogamone II.
Hyaluronidase
Androgamone II.
Gynogamone I.
Androgamone I.
Parts of female sexual organs releasing
chemoattractants

Cervical mucus

Cavity of uterus

Follicular fluide

Cumulus cells

Intact, still not fertilized oocyte
Components of follicular fluide
Composition is sexual cycle dependant
 LH
 Progesterone (1-100 mg/ml)
 Adrenalin (0.001 mg/mll
 Oxytocin (0.01 U/ml)
 Insulin (repellens)
 Kallikrein
 Anti-thrombin III.
= spermium receptor
 Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP=ANF)
 1000 Da, heat-stable protein

Other factors synthesized by the female organs
and influencing the chemotaxis

pH

some proteases

resact – Ca2+ [mM]

speract – guanylate cyclase

chemoattractant substance perelased from
the vegetative pole of oocyte
Brown algae
Ectocarpene 0.89 – 8.9 nmol/l
the p-electone-distribution is essential
Spermiums and chemotaxis (1)

Population of spermiums is rather heterogeneous
The respiratory response induced by follicular fluide:
70 % positive
!!!
20 % negative

Responsiveness is changing by the age of cells:
early
matured
aged
only these cells express normal responsiveness
Spermiums and chemotaxis (2)
Ca2+ has a role in:
chemotaxis
cell respiratory proc.
acrosome reaction
cortocal reaction
fertiléization
cell adhesion
Calmodulin – NAD-kinase – exocytosis
phosphatases, phosphorylation
guanylate cyclase
cGMP
cGMP-depend. Ca2+ channel
Ca2+ influx when spermium reaches the oocyte
Spermiums and chemotaxis (3)

Methylation system
tail – protein carboxyl-methylase
head – tail – MAP
decreased phospholipid methylation (min. 40%)

cAMP-dependent phosphorylation

Protein kinase inhibitors are blockers of the system
(42 kD kináz)
Spermiums and chemotaxis (4)

Common receptor-gene family in
odorant receptors and in spermium

fMLF and BOC-fMLP (10-9 – 10-8 M)
works as chemoattractant not only in leukocytes
BUT in spermiums, too.
(leukocyte accumulation is induced in the female
genital tract)

p-nitrophenyl-glycerol (PNPG) 10-5 M is repellent
in spermiums – contraceptive applications
Characterization of pheromones
Work on the individuals of the same species
 Influence the sexual behaviour
 Effects are expressed via pheromone-receptors
 signaling is G-protein-linked
 Influence development of hierarchy in the population
qualitative
differences
quantitative

Excreted in: feaces, urine, sweet and other body-fluids
 Determined by MHC-genes
the same H2 (male-female) prefer each other

Pheromones (2)
Mice
Estrus-inhibition
Anestrus
Estrus (sensible period lasts 5 days,
but mating desensibilizes it)
Pheromones (3)
Non-self male excretes pheromones
in the urine
Level of heterozygocy
is increased
Pheromones in lower levels of phylogeny (1)
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
7 transmembrane receptor
 G-protein-linked
 Clathrin haevy-chain dependent internalization

Tetrahymena pyriformis

Attractant: tricosene ; imprinting +

Repellent: bornyl acetate ; imprinting 0
Pheromones in lower levels of phylogeny (2)

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae pheromones guide:
- development of mating projections
- intracellular migration of nucleus

Presence of N- and O-oligosaccharides
a-agglutinin (cell adhesion) – in the core region
80-95% O-oligosach.
pheromones
a-agglutinin-gene
cell-cell contacts
Pheromones in lower levels of phylogeny (3)

Fungi – Allomyces macrogynus
Sirenin (1 pM – 1 mM)

acts on gamets
H+, K+, NH4+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, La3+
- ions are repellent itself
- they can neutralize effects of each-other in competition
Practical applications of pheromones

Artificial feritlization /insemination

Anti-helmintic

Insect repellent
„T-shirt” test
Self – Non-self ?
Male – Female ?
Pheromones in human (1)

Determination capacity of own-odor 75%

Distinguish male/female (female scores are better)

Newborns – recognition of lactating breast
2 days
2 weeks
6 weeks

Mating
0
+ but no differentiation
+ mother preference
Pheromones
Dog
age (days)
self
non-self
20-24
>
31-36, 66-72
~
52-56
male
Pheromone in hide
The chair labelled
with male pheromone
was preferred by
female induviduals