Behavioral and regulatory abnormalities in mice deficient in the NPAS1 and NPAS3 transcription factors.

ABSTRACT: Laboratory mice bearing inactivating mutations in the genes encoding the NPAS1 and NPAS3 transcription factors have been shown to exhibit a spectrum of behavioral and neurochemical abnormalities. Behavioral abnormalities included diminished startle response, as measured by prepulse inhibition, and impaired social recognition. NPAS1/NPAS3-deficient mice also exhibited stereotypic darting behavior at weaning and increased locomotor activity. Immunohistochemical staining assays showed that the NPAS1 and NPAS3 proteins are expressed in inhibitory interneurons and that the viability and anatomical distribution of these neurons are unaffected by the absence of either transcription factor. Adult brain tissues from NPAS3- and NPAS1/NPAS3-deficient mice exhibited a distinct reduction in reelin, a l

SUBMITTER: Erbel-Sieler C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC518807 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature