Distinct preoptic-BST nuclei dissociate paternal and infanticidal behavior in mice.

Paternal behavior is not innate but arises through social experience. After mating and becoming fathers, male mice change their behavior toward pups from infanticide to paternal care. However, the precise brain areas and circuit mechanisms connecting these social behaviors are largely unknown. Here we demonstrated that the c-Fos expression pattern in the four nuclei of the preoptic-bed nuclei of stria terminalis (BST) region could robustly discriminate five kinds of previous social behavior of male mice (parenting, infanticide, mating, inter-male aggression, solitary control). Specifically, neuronal activation in the central part of the medial preoptic area (cMPOA) and rhomboid nucleus of the BST (BSTrh) retroactively detected paternal and infanticidal motivation with more than 95% accuracy. Moreover, cMPOA lesions switched behavior in fathers from paternal to infanticidal, while BSTrh lesions inhibited infanticide in virgin males. The projections from cMPOA to BSTrh were largely GABAergic. Optogenetic or pharmacogenetic activation of cMPOA attenuated infanticide in virgin males. Taken together, this study identifies the preoptic-BST nuclei underlying social motivations in male mice and reveals unexpected complexity in the circuit connecting these nuclei.

Expression of ZIC family genes in meningiomas and other brain tumors.

BACKGROUND: Zic zinc finger proteins are present in the developing rodent meninges and are required for cell proliferation and differentiation of meningeal progenitors. Although human ZIC genes are known to be molecular markers for medulloblastomas, their expression in meningioma has not been addressed to date. METHODS: We examined the mRNA and protein expression of human ZIC1, ZIC2, ZIC3, ZIC4 and ZIC5 genes in meningiomas in comparison to other brain tumors, using RT-PCR, analysis of published microarray data, and immunostaining. RESULTS: ZIC1, ZIC2 and ZIC5 transcript levels in meningiomas were higher than those in whole brain or normal dura mater, whereas all five ZIC genes were abundantly expressed in medulloblastomas. The expression level of ZIC1 in public microarray data was greater in meningiomas classified as World Health Organization Grade II (atypical) than those classified as Grade I (benign). Immunoscreening using anti-ZIC antibodies revealed that 23 out of 23 meningioma cases were ZIC1/2/3/5-immunopositive. By comparison, nuclear staining by the anti-ZIC4 antibody was not observed in any meningioma case, but was strongly detected in all four medulloblastomas. ZIC-positive meningiomas included meningothelial, fibrous, transitional, and psammomatous histological subtypes. In normal meninges, ZIC-like immunoreactivities were detected in vimentin-expressing arachnoid cells both in human and mouse. CONCLUSIONS: ZIC1, ZIC2, and ZIC5 are novel molecular markers for meningiomas whereas ZIC4 expression is highly selective for medulloblastomas. The pattern of ZIC expression in both of these tumor types may reflect the properties of the tissues from which the tumors are derived.