Impaired social behaviors and minimized oxytocin signaling of the adult mice deficient in the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor GluN3A subunit.
Exp Neurol
; 305: 1-12, 2018 07.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29554474
ABSTRACT
The N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of neurological diseases, such as schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and Alzheimer's disease (AD), whose unique clinical hallmark is a constellation of impaired social and/or cognitive behaviors. GluN3A (NR3A) is a unique inhibitory subunit in the NMDAR complex. The role of GluN3A in social behavioral activities is obscure. In this study, we sought to evaluate altered social activities in adult GluN3A knockout (KO) mice. GluN3A KO mice spent less time in reciprocal social interaction in the social interaction test compared to wild-type (WT) mice. A social approach test using a three-chamber system confirmed that mice lacking GluN3A had lower sociability and did not exhibit a preference for social novelty. GluN3A KO mice displayed abnormal food preference in the social transmission of food preference task and low social interaction activity in the five-trial social memory test, but without social memory deficits. Using a home cage monitoring system, we observed reduced social grooming behavior in GluN3A KO mice. Signaling genes that might mediate the altered social behaviors were examined in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and thalamus. Among nine genes examined, the expression of the oxytocin receptor was significantly lower in the prefrontal cortex of GluN3A KO mice than that in WT mice. Oxytocin treatment rescued social activity deficits in GluN3A KO mice. These findings support a novel idea that a chronic state of moderate increases in NMDAR activities may lead to downregulation of the oxytocin signaling and impaired behavioral activities that are seen in psychiatric/neurodegenerative disorders.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Social Behavior
/
Signal Transduction
/
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate
/
Receptors, Oxytocin
/
Grooming
Aspects:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Exp Neurol
Year:
2018
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States