Male Spata19 knockout mice have behavioral disorders

Objectives

Spata19 was one of genes involved in neurogenesis, which mutated in some psychiatric disorders. In the current study, using Spata19 knockout mice, we showed the effect of this gene inactivation on some behaviors of mice.

Methods

Twenty-four wild-type (WT) and global Spata19 knockout (KO) mice were divided into four groups (Male: WT, n = 9 (6) | Male: KO, n = 5| Female: WT, n = 6| Female: KO, n = 4 (3)). Four of them died during the study. The behavior of these mice was compared with Open Field, Novel Object Recognition, Social Interaction Test and Forced Swimming Test. In these tests, respectively, time spent in centers and locomotor activity, number of smells, fighting and number of stops were evaluated.

Results

Spata19 gene inactivation had not any effect on the behavior of the female mice but in male mice showed greater locomotor activity and time spent in center of arena in the open field test, different coping behavior in Forced Swimming Test, aggressive behavior in Social Interaction Test and cognitive impairment in Novel Object Recognition. This behavioral difference in male KO vs. other mice was significant with a p-value less than 0.05.

Conclusions

The results showed that gene inactivation was involved in the development of behavioral disorders in males.