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Maternal Genotype Can Influence the Outcome of a Study on Mutant Animals
Author(s) -
ZELENA DÓRA,
MERGL ZSUZSA,
MAKARA GÁBOR B.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1296.058
Subject(s) - vasopressin , endocrinology , medicine , offspring , arginine , adrenocorticotropic hormone , genotype , hormone , hypothalamus , biology , pregnancy , gene , genetics , amino acid
A bstract : The hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis plays a crucial role in stress. One of its central regulatory components is arginine‐vasopressin (AVP). We studied the role of AVP in acute restraint in AVP‐deficient mutant Brattleboro rats (AVP−), but our results were variable. The early life period is important in the later stress reactivity of the animals. We realized that our AVP− pups could be born from AVP+ (heterozygous) or from AVP− mothers. Therefore, we asked whether the genotype of the mother could explain the variability. Adult rats from AVP+ and AVP− mothers were stressed with 60 min of restraint. Trunk blood was collected for measuring hormone content by radioimmunoassay. All offspring of AVP+ mothers had similar adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) responses to restraint, whereas the AVP− rats born to AVP− mothers showed reduced ACTH reactivity. Our results show that the AVP− genotype of the mother can decrease the stress reactivity of AVP− Brattleboro rats. In mutant/knockout animals, family background should be taken into account as well as the genotype of the studied animals.