Strain differences in behaviour and immunity in aged mice: Relevance to autism.
Loading...
Files
Published version
Supplementary Data
Date
2020-11-20
Authors
O'Connor, Rory
van de Wouw, Marcel
Moloney, Gerard M.
Ventura-Silva, Ana Paula
O'Riordan, Ken
Golubeva, Anna V.
Dinan, Timothy G.
Schellekens, Harriët
Cryan, John F.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier B.V.
Published Version
Abstract
The BTBR mouse model has been shown to be associated with deficits social interaction and a pronounced engagement in repetitive behaviours. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the most prevalent neurodevelopmental condition globally. Despite its ubiquity, most research into the disorder remains focused on childhood, with studies in adulthood and old age relatively rare. To this end, we explored the differences in behaviour and immune function in an aged BTBR T + Itpr3tf/J mouse model of the disease compared to a similarly aged C57bl/6 control. We show that while many of the alterations in behaviour that are observed in young animals are maintained (repetitive behaviours, antidepressant-sensitive behaviours, social deficits & cognition) there are more nuanced effects in terms of anxiety in older animals of the BTBR strain compared to C57bl/6 controls. Furthermore, BTBR animals also exhibit an activated T-cell system. As such, these results represent confirmation that ASD-associated behavioural deficits are maintained in ageing, and that that there may be need for differential interventional approaches to counter these impairments, potentially through targeting the immune system.
Description
Keywords
Autism , Flow-Cytometry , BTBR , Ageing
Citation
O’Connor, R., van De Wouw, M., Moloney, G. M., Ventura-Silva, A. P., O’Riordan, K., Golubeva, A. V., Dinan, T. G., Schellekens, H. and Cryan, J. F. (2021) 'Strain differences in behaviour and immunity in aged mice: Relevance to Autism', Behavioural Brain Research, 399, 113020 (10 pp). doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.113020