RUNNING TO BED WITH JEZEBEL

March 07, 2019 / Ashley Romanchuk

An Essay on how the environment turns on gene signals creating health or dis-ease:

Has contemporary culture cloaked our pheromones so much that not only are we possibly choosing the wrong partners (hellooo divorce rate!!!) but completely altering our genetic expression to feasibly be worse off? Is our species doomed with all the perfumes, colognes, deodorants, scented lotions, soaps and clothing detergents that the majority use every day? Are we making love to false prophets and thus creating false profits in return?

A Brief History on Pheromones, Honeybees and Mate Selection....

The act of mammalian courtship has been a phenomenon that has interested several disciplines of study with each creating their own theory on mate selection. For instance, biological anthropologists may talk about the breeding strategies or female dominance in choosing a mate while Psychologists may talk about sex, similarity, competence and communication skills. Social Scientists could take the point of view of access to resources and mate selection, and now-a-days, physicists may even talk about the matching of energy vibrations between two people leading to partnership... Clearly we better not forget the other important factors such as fashion sense, astrological sign and survival skills? The list could go on obviously, and to each their own. We all very obviously have several factors that become conducive to whom we pick to marry, however, rarely in these conversations do we talk about the relationship between pheromones and our mate.

The word Pheromone originated from the Greek language with “Phereine” meaning to carry and “Hormon” meaning to excite. A pheromone is literally a chemical that we excrete through our natural body odour to be carried through the air to excite a member of the opposite sex for courtship.

It has been found that olfactory/pheromonal conditioning in mammals plays a role in altered perception which extends to behaviours associated with sexual interest and self-reported attraction. For instance, androstenol, a [bio]chemical compound with a cortisol “backbone” that is secreted in male pheromones has behavioural affects on females by influencing her levels of luteinizing hormone which releases her female hormones and creates a cascade of other effects in the body, along with raising her mood [1]. It was even found that in a study of two groups of males, one group exuding their natural scents and the others covering their scent (with a scent deemed to be attractive by the way, but chemically created in a laboratory ie sythetic scents - not a natural essential oil) that women were more likely to make eye contact, interact and laugh with the group of men that smelled of natural body odour [1]. And do not get me wrong, this does not just apply to females. Socialenvironmental odour cues tests in rats showed that males are affected by female pheromones in which their levels of released luteinizing hormone change too upon stimulus which affects their pituitary-gonadal axis which eventually increases their level of testosterone. Think about the apes!

A very interesting study known as the White T-Shirt Experiment by Swiss Zoologist Claus Wedekind who hypothesized that pheromones are a method of survival for mammals as due to these natural chemicals, one can pick a mate with a different major histiocompatibility locus (MHC) to give their offspring advantages[8]. MHC genes encode cell-surface glycoproteins which bind short peptides and present them to T-lymphocytes (the killer cells of our immune system). Thus MHC works to help control immune recognition and non-recognition and are shown to play a role in autoimmune diseases [9], a phenomenon still not well understood in modern-day medicine. Evidence shows MHC polymorphisms are determined by odour and driven by sexual selection with mice indicating that both male and females prefer MHC-dissimilar mates. There is even thought that this evidence of choosing MHC-dissimilar mates may be to avoid inbreeding and thus preventing the diseases that come along with that. In correlation with the MHC-mouse experiment, the White T-Shirt experiment had 44 different men wear clean white t-shirts for 2 days and nights before they returned them to the scientists. Each t-shirt was then placed in a box and 47 different females judged and rated the odour of the shirts based on intensity, pleasantness and sexiness. Results showed congruency with the hypothesis as nearly all women gave the highest ratings to the men whose MHC genes were different from their own[8].

The chemicals excreted in an individual’s particular aroma are as special to them as their DNA and thus pheromones become a beacon which bring forth appropriate suitors.

The counterpart to bring forth the appropriate suitor are based upon approximately 10 million olfactory receptor cells within the nasal mucosa of each human being! This signifies that olfaction plays a huge role in sensory input and has largely been underestimated with emphasis placed on visual input in the ideologies behind human reproduction and behaviour. Additionally, pheromone receptors have been found in the vomeronasal organ which sends messages to the brain that completely bypass consciousness so that the olfactory pathway goes to the limbic system (the emotional center) without hitting the cortex[4]. Thus emotion, which is the major currency in mammalian social interaction, can be directly tied with olfactory input that has no logical or conscientious component therefore allowing instinct to rule fully. The link between olfaction, sexual reproduction and genetics becomes quite evident in individuals suffering from X-linked Kallmann’s Syndrome which is ultimately due to an underdeveloped olfactory bulb in embryo. Both female and male counterparts with this syndrome are anosmic and interestingly enough show underdeveloped gonads and a complete lack of secondary sexual characteristics [2].

Traditionally honeybees have been a model for studying human immunity, disease and antibiotic resistance, mental health development and diseases of the X-chromosome including memory and conditioned responses [2]. Honeybee castes (workers, nurses and queens) are physiologically, morphologically and behaviourally differentiated during their development by gene expression which has been mediated by hormones. Because pheromones have hormone-specific affects, chemical sensory input from social odours can directly alter the phenotype of a given genotype [3]. Pheromones do this by changing the electrical activity in the brain which further sends signals down neurons that initiate the change in Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) in the hypothalamus leading to a neuroendocrine response and functionally changing behaviour. This has elicited interest into the feasibility of scents affecting the phenotypes of humans and the possibility of an epigenetic component leading to a heritable change upon generations to come.

The Epigenesis of Pheromonial Ritual

Epigenetics is a lineage in genetics where we are seeing heritable changes in gene expression and chromatin organization that are independent of the DNA sequence itself. The genome is the entire DNA sequence and not all of that “genotype” is expressed as a trait, the “phenotype” is what is expressed. So epigenetics is basically the study of how certain processes can change the phenotype (what is expressed) in a manner that is passed on through generations...SAY WHAT?

A quick tutorial on DNA, Genes and Epigenes....

DNA is your chemical make up that is created from the combination of traits from your mother and father. A human being consists of 46 X-shaped chromosomes (23 pairs) that define them from other animals and because one of those pairs are specifically due to your parents, it makes you extraordinary from all other human beings, nobody else has your exact genetic code (although they will be 99.9% the same). Histones are small proteins grouped into 8 that act as a spool for DNA to wrap itself around into the resulting unit which is called a nucleosome. Nucleosomes then chain together to from chromatin which compresses and fold to fit into the X-shape of chromosomes which then fit into the nucleus of the cell. This is the interesting part in the story: the tightness of the DNA coils around the histones and the compactness of the compression of chromatin in its packing strongly influences gene activity.

This is where epigenetics comes into the picture. DNA can have methyl groups added to it which represses its activity (turns off certain parts of it) and furthermore, when DNA wraps around these histones, there is a “tail” left (which allows each histone to link together into the nucleosome) and other chemical groups such as methyl, acetyl, and phosphoryl groups are highly attracted to these histone tails too. Thus if they are present and the DNA is exposed, or not coiled or compacted tight enough, they will methylate the DNA or modify the tail which represses the gene activity and turns off what would have been seen in the normal phenotype. Through the acts of imprinting, gene silencing and x-chromosomal inactivation, epigenetic effects are changing the germ-line and being seen trans-generationally. Most often this all occurs due to external factors which the external environment provides!!!!

What external environment factors may lead to these alterations in DNA you may ask. CHEMICALS seem to be the culprits!!!! So far it seems that pesticides, industrial chemical, heavy metals and some pharmaceuticals provide the extra methyls, acetyls and phosphoryls into the wrong places of the body with bind with the DNA and alter it’s structure and function[5].

Examples of chemicals affecting generations can be seen in experiments such as the Vinclozolin Rat experiment, where rats were exposed to the fungacide Vinclozolin which is commonly used in a variety of agricultural products including garlic and wine grapes. It was shown that their great-great-grandsons were still showing the impacts from certain parts of their genes being turned off and thus developing types of cancer, kidney disease, immunity problems and sterility. On top of all of this, it was found that normal female rats were able to deduce the males that had been exposed to Vinclozolin via smelling their altered pheromonal secretions. Thus the female rats could tell that the second or third generation of Vinclozolin-exposed-males were not appropriate for mating rituals[6] according to the hypothesis of Natural Selection and they did not mate with them.

It is now quite common knowledge that plastics containing Bisphenol A (BPA) disrupts estrogen production in both males and females mammals. In mice, it is seen that BPA alters methylation patterns which phenotypically change their coat color and metabolic processes for generations from initial exposure [4], we do not yet know the complete generational impact on human beings although cancer seems to be the largest issue. Furthermore with mice, studies show prenatal exposure to increased estrogen caused epigenetic (multigenerational) transmission leading to disease patterns that ultimately lead to the same types of cancer in mice generations away that had never been directly exposed to estrogen [7]. I would expect this to be similar in human beings. One interesting note that we do know about human beings is that from 1938 to 1971, medicine believed that if they gave pregnant women extra high doses of estrogen via the pharmaceutical diethylstilbestrol (DES) that they would drastically decrease the chance of miscarriage. We are now seeing individuals generations away from the exposure to DES carrying the cancers originally seen only in the exposed mother, which came about after the exposure to DES [5]. This is further supported by studies done on mice with DES and the same cancers occurred generations down the line.

So this is where I am going with this double whammy of Jezebel’s teachings (modern day society utilizing scented chemical products to cover up natural beauty). With all the other chemicals we are exposed to daily, the chemicals in perfumes, colognes, scented soaps and shampoos, lotions and deodorants, hair products and clothing detergents expose us to compounds such as:

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Formaldehyde

Acetone

Benzyladehyde

Benzyl Acetate

Ethyl Acetate

Methylene Chloride

Terpinenes and Terpineols

Limonene

Linolool

Tartrazine

(To name a few.)

With the use of these, we are clearly masking our natural pheromones and dis-allowing ourselves from intuitively choosing the correct partner. Further, we can not dissociate who has MHC similar or dissimilar gene traits and thus may be mating with someone that will lead our children to having severe immune issues thus not abiding at all with the Law of Natural Selection and potentiating the decline of the human species. The worst part is is the chemicals in these products surely affect the methyls, acetyls and phosphoryls roaming around in our body and I would expect have huge epigenetic detriments.

So my hypothesis is that as modern day society has made it the norm to cover up our natural body odour, which parallels the deception of Jezebel, it has inadvertently also made it the norm to choose a courtship that is inappropriate according with the Law of Natural Selection and the chemicals used in these products potentially are causing changes in the germ-line which all boils down to a health crisis. Is it possible that we not only have inter-individual communication crisis of the covering of pheromones but also a trans-generational epigenetically-linked health disaster with the use of chemical scents? Could this detrimentally affect the survival of the human race? I suppose we will have to wait and see...

References:

[1] Human Pheromones, Epigenetics, Physiology and The Development of Animal Behaviour. JV Kohl, LC Helahan, H Hoffman. Clin. Lab. Independent Researcher, Epworth CA. http://cdn.fl1000.com/posters/docs/1387

[2] Honeybee Genome Sequencing Consortium.2006. Insights into Social Insects from the Genome of the Honeybee. Apis Mellifica Natura. 443(7114); 931-49.

[3] Human Pheromones and Food Odours: Epigenetic Influences on the Socioaffective Nature of Evolved Behaviours. J. Kohl.

[4] Vive La Difference. C.Dulat. PLOS. Genet 7960:e1002140.doi:10.1371/journal.pgen. 1002-140.

[5] Environment Becomes Hereditary. http://www.psmag.com/science-environment/environment-becomes-hereditary-4425.

[6] Transgenerational Epigenetic Imprints on Mate Preference. The National Academy of Sciences. April 2007. D Crews, AC Core. Rockefeller University, New York, NY.

[7] R. Newbold, J. McLachlan. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

[8] MHC-dependent Preferences in Humans. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. C. Wedekind. 1995. 260: 245-49.

[9] MHC Genes, Body Odours and Odour Preferences. C. Wedekind and D. Penne. Oxford Journal of Medicine. Vol. 15. Issue. 9: 1269-1271.

JUNE 1, 2016

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