Major urinary proteins (Mups) are a subfamily of proteins found in high abundance in the urine and other secretions of many mammals. They belong to a larger family of proteins known as lipocalins. Mups are encoded by a cluster of genes located on a single stretch of DNA, varying greatly in number between species: from at least 21 functional genes in mice to none in humans. Mups form a characteristic glove shape, encompassing a ligand-binding pocket that accommodates specific small, organic chemicals. Urinary proteins were first reported in rodents in 1932, during studies by Thomas Addis into the cause of proteinuria. They are potent human allergens largely responsible for a number of animal allergies. Their endogenous function within an animal is unknown, but as secreted proteins, they can act as pheromones or function as pheromone transporters and stabilizers, playing multiple roles in chemical communication between animals. They have been demonstrated to promote aggression in male mice, and one specific Mup found in male mouse urine is sexually attractive to female mice. Mups can also function as signals between different species. Accordingly, Mups can provide a range of identifying information about the donor animal.
Read the rest of this article: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_urinary_proteins> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 338 BC: A Macedonian army defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony over the majority of Greece. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chaeronea_%28338_BC%29> 216 BC: Second Punic War: Carthaginian forces led by Hannibal defeated a numerically superior Roman army, near the town of Cannae in Apulia in southeast Italy. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cannae> 1790: The first United States Census was conducted, as mandated by the United States Constitution to allocate Congressional seats and electoral votes. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Census> 1870: Tower Subway, one of the world's first underground tube railways, opened beneath the River Thames in London. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Subway> 1903: The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization started the Ilinden Uprising against the Ottoman Empire in present-day Republic of Macedonia and Greece. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilinden%E2%80%93Preobrazhenie_Uprising> 1980: A terrorist bomb exploded at the Central Station of Bologna, Italy, killing 85 people and wounding more than 200. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_massacre> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: yob (n): (pejorative, slang) A person who engages in antisocial behaviour and/or drunkenness <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yob> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: Religious feeling is as much a verity as any other part of human consciousness; and against it, on the subjective side, the waves of science beat in vain. --John Tyndall <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Tyndall> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
