Open AccessThe effects of tamoxifen on mouse behavior
Author(s) -
Li Xin,
Du ZhuoJun,
Chen ManQi,
Chen JiaJun,
Liang ZhiMan,
Ding XiaoTing,
Zhou Min,
Li ShuJi,
Li XiaoWen,
Yang JianMing,
Gao TianMing
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
genes, brain and behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.315
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1601-183X
pISSN - 1601-1848
DOI - 10.1111/gbb.12620
Subject(s) - tamoxifen , antiestrogen , behavioural despair test , cre recombinase , learned helplessness , estrogen receptor , rodent , estrogen , psychology , anxiety , biology , medicine , endocrinology , antidepressant , transgene , genetically modified mouse , developmental psychology , breast cancer , gene , genetics , cancer , psychiatry , ecology
The CreER T2 recombinase system is an advanced method to temporally control site‐specific mutagenesis in adult rodents. In this process, tamoxifen is injected to induce Cre recombinase expression, and then, Cre recombinase can excise LoxP‐flanked DNA. However, tamoxifen is a nonselective estrogen receptor antagonist that may influence behavioral alterations. Therefore, we designed five different protocols (acute effects, chronic effects, chronic effects after social defeat model, chronic effects after learned helplessness model, chronic effects after isolation models) to explore whether tamoxifen affects mouse behavior. Researching the acute/chronic effects of tamoxifen, we found that tamoxifen could influence locomotor activity, anxiety and immobility time in the forced swimming test. Researching the chronic effects of tamoxifen after social defeat/learned helplessness/isolation models, we found that tamoxifen could also influence locomotor activity, social interaction and anxiety. Therefore, the effects of tamoxifen are more complex than previously reported. Our results show, for the first time, that tamoxifen affects behavior in mouse models. Meanwhile, we compare the effects of tamoxifen in different protocols. These results will provide important information when designing similar experiments.