Aims: Synaptic Ras GTPase-activating protein 1 (SYNGAP1) regulates synaptic plasticity through AMPA receptor trafficking. SYNGAP1 mutations have been found in human patients with intellectual disability (ID) and autis...
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Aims: Synaptic Ras GTPase-activating protein 1 (SYNGAP1) regulates synaptic plasticity through AMPA receptor trafficking. SYNGAP1 mutations have been found in human patients with intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Almost every individual with SYNGAP1-related ID develops epilepsy, and approximately 50% have ASD. SYNGAP1-related ID is estimated to account for at least 1% of ID cases. In mouse models with Syngap1 mutations, strong cognitive and affective dysfunctions have been reported, yet some findings are inconsistent across studies. To further understand the behavioral significance of the SYNGAP1 gene, we assessed various domains of behavior in Syngap1 heterozygous mutant mice using a behavioral test battery. Methods: Male mice with a heterozygous mutation in the Syngap1 gene (Syngap1−/+ mice) created by Seth Grant's group were subjected to a battery of comprehensive behavioral tests, which examined general health, and neurological screens, rotarod, hot plate, open field, light/dark transition, elevated plus maze, social interaction, prepulse inhibition, Porsolt forced swim, tail suspension, gait analysis, T-maze, Y-maze, Barnes maze, contextual and cued fear conditioning, and home cage locomotor activity. To control for type I errors due to multiple-hypothesis testing, P-values below the false discovery rate calculated by the Benjamini-Hochberg method were considered as study-wide statistically significant. Results: Syngap1−/+ mice showed increased locomotor activity, decreased prepulse inhibition, and impaired working and reference spatial memory, consistent with preceding studies. Impairment of context fear memory and increased startle reflex in Syngap1 mutant mice could not be reproduced. Significant decreases in sensitivity to painful stimuli and impaired motor function were observed in Syngap1−/+ mice. Decreased anxiety-like behavior and depression-like behavior were noted, although increased loco
The long noncoding RNA Gomafu/MIAT/Rncr2 is thought to function in retinal cell specification, stem cell differentiation and the control of alternative splicing. To further investigate physiological functions of Gomaf...
The long noncoding RNA Gomafu/MIAT/Rncr2 is thought to function in retinal cell specification, stem cell differentiation and the control of alternative splicing. To further investigate physiological functions of Gomafu, we created mouse knockout (KO) model that completely lacks the Gomafu gene. The KO mice did not exhibit any developmental deficits. However, behavioral tests revealed that the KO mice are hyperactive. This hyperactive behavior was enhanced when the KO mice were treated with the psychostimulant methamphetamine, which was associated with an increase in dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. RNA sequencing analyses identified a small number of genes affected by the deficiency of Gomafu, a subset of which are known to have important neurobiological functions. These observations suggest that Gomafu modifies mouse behavior thorough a mild modulation of gene expression and/or alternative splicing of target genes.
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