Major urinary proteins, also known as α2u-globulins, are a subfamily of proteins found in abundance in the urine and other secretions of many animals. Mups provide a small range of identifying information about the donor animal, when detected by the vomeronasal organ of the receiving animal. Urinary proteins were first reported in rodents in 1932, during studies by Thomas Addis into the cause of proteinuria.
About Major urinary proteins in brief
Major urinary proteins, also known as α2u-globulins, are a subfamily of proteins found in abundance in the urine and other secretions of many animals. Mups provide a small range of identifying information about the donor animal, when detected by the vomeronasal organ of the receiving animal. Urinary proteins were first reported in rodents in 1932, during studies by Thomas Addis into the cause of proteinuria. They are potent human allergens and are largely responsible for a number of animal allergies, including to cats, horses and rodents. As secreted proteins they play multiple roles in chemical communication between animals, functioning as pheromone transporters and stabilizers in rodents and pigs. They have been demonstrated to promote aggression in male mice, and one specific Mup protein found in male mouse urine is sexually attractive to female mice. In some species, such as cats and pigs, Mups appear not to be expressed in urine at all and are mainly found in saliva. In 2008 a more precise number of Mup genes in a range of species was determined by analyzing the DNA sequence of whole genomes. It was estimated that Mups are encoded by a gene family of between 15 and 35 genes and pseudogenes in the mouse and by an estimated 20 genes in the rat. The mouse reference genome has at least 21 distinct Mups genes and a further 21 Mup pseudogene. The remaining remaining Mup gene cluster is one of the parts of the mouse whole genome with gaps, and further genes may remain undiscovered.
Most other rodent species studied in the study expanded their Mup families, meaning that both rodent species expanded their gene families separately, but separately in other parallel families. Most rat Mups have 9 distinct Mup family families, but they have since become known as rat Mup. Like the mice, rats have 9 separate Mups gene families, and a total of 13 pseudogenis genes. The rat urine also contains urinary Mup proteins; they were originally given a different name, although they were initially given the different name α2-glulins. The proteins are primarily made in the liver of males and secreted through the kidneys into the urine in large quantities. Since they were named, the proteins have been found to be differentially expressed in other glands that secrete products directly into the external environment. Sometimes the term urinary Mups is used to distinguish those Mups expressed in pee from those in other tissues. Humans in good health excrete urine that is largely free of protein. Therefore, since 1827 physicians and scientists have been interested in proteinuria, the excess of protein in human urine, as an indicator of kidney disease. In the 1960s, it was not until the major urinary proteins of mice and rats were first described in detail. The 21 functional genes have been divided into two sub-classes based on position and sequence similarity: 6 peripheral Class A Mups and 15 central Class B Mups.
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This page is based on the article Major urinary proteins published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 04, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
