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Characterization of striatal phenotypes in heterozygous Disc1 mutant mice, a model of haploinsufficiency
Author(s) -
Baskaran Rathinasamy,
Lai ChuanChing,
Li WaiYu,
Tuan LiHeng,
Wang ChiaChuan,
Lee Lukas J.H.,
Liu ChihMin,
Hwu HaiGwo,
Lee LiJen
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.24813
Subject(s) - disc1 , haploinsufficiency , dopaminergic , amphetamine , striatum , dopamine , nucleus accumbens , dopamine receptor d2 , biology , medicine , medium spiny neuron , endocrinology , dopamine receptor , mutant , dopamine transporter , phenotype , genetics , gene
Disrupted‐in‐Schizophrenia 1 ( DISC1 ) is a susceptibility gene for several psychiatric illnesses. To study the pathogenesis of these disorders, we generated Disc1 mutant mice by introducing the 129S6/SvEv 25‐bp deletion Disc1 variants into the C57BL/6J strain. In this study, we used heterozygous Disc1 mutant (Het) mice to evaluate the DISC1 haploinsufficiency model of schizophrenia. No changes in locomotor behaviors were observed in Het mice; however, after amphetamine injection, greater locomotor activity was observed in Het mice compared with wild‐type (WT) mice. Moreover, amphetamine‐induced elevations of c‐Fos expression and dopamine level in the striatum were greater in Het mice than in WT controls, suggesting an altered dopaminergic regulation in the striatum of Het mice. Compared with those in WTs, the striatal protein levels of dopamine transporter and D2 dopamine receptor were increased in Het mice, while D1 dopamine receptor level was decreased. DISC1 interacting proteins, GSK3α and GSK3β, were downregulated in Het mice, whereas the levels of PDE4B and CREB were not altered. Morphologically, the complexities of striatal median spiny neurons (MSNs), parvalbumin‐positive interneurons and Iba1‐positive microglia were all decreased in Het mice. The density and head diameter of dendritic spines in the MSNs of Het mice were also reduced. Our results indicate that mice lacking one WT Disc1 allele are more sensitive to psychostimulant amphetamine challenge, which might be attributed to the altered structure and function of the striatal dopaminergic system. Here, we demonstrated striatal phenotypes in heterozygous Disc1 mutant mice, which could be a promising model of DISC1 haploinsufficiency.