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Phenotypical characterization of NPS precursor knockout mice
Author(s) -
Liu Xiaobin,
Reinscheid Rainer K
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.582.9
Subject(s) - knockout mouse , phenotype , elevated plus maze , arousal , neuropeptide , gene knockout , rodent , anxiety , psychology , in vivo , neuroscience , receptor , biology , gene , genetics , ecology , psychiatry
Neuropeptide S (NPS) and its cognate receptor, NPSR, have been found to modulate arousal, anxiety, stress response, feeding behavior, and learning and memory in rodent animals. To investigate phenotypical consequences of NPS deficiency in vivo , we generated a knockout mouse model by homologous recombination in ES cells, deleting the third exon of the NPS precursor gene. No NPS peptide was found in brains of homozygous knockout mice using immunofluorescence. Initial characterization of behavioral phenotypes of NPSprecursor knockout mice showed that NPS −/− mice are more anxious, show reduced arousal in a novel environment, and display deficits in inhibitory avoidance learning. These observations support the hypothesis that activity of the endogenous NPS system is required for behavioral arousal, modulation of anxiety responses and fear memory. This research was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, MH‐71313).