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Hippocampus-specific deficiency of IL-15Rα contributes to greater anxiety-like behaviors in mice

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Abstract

A hippocampus-specific IL15RαKO mouse (hipIl15ra fl/fl/Cre+) was generated to test the hypothesis that the targeted deletion of interleukin-15 receptor alpha (IL-15Rα) in the hippocampus contributes to altered behavior, including greater levels of anxiety and ambulatory activity. Using Cre-loxP, exons 2 and 3 of the IL-15Rα gene were excised within the hippocampus, while normal expression was maintained within the rest of the brain. In the open field test (OFT), hipIl15ra fl/fl/Cre+ spent a greater amount of time in the periphery and less time in the central portions of the chamber, and there was also a noticeable trend for decreased rearing activity; these behaviors are consistent with greater levels of anxiety-like behavior in these mice. However, there were no differences in the overall locomotor counts in the OFT when comparing hipIl15ra fl/fl/Cre+ mice to their littermate controls. These data implicate IL-15-related signaling within the hippocampus has a role in anxiety-like behavior.

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Acknowledgments

The experiments presented in this manuscript were supported by New Faculty Start-Up funds through West Virginia University (E.E. Pistilli).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry and Physiology & Pharmacology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Linda Nguyen & Hanting Zhang

  2. Division of Exercise Physiology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Joseph Bohlen, Janelle Stricker, Ikttesh Chahal & Emidio E. Pistilli

  3. West Virginia University Cancer Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Emidio E. Pistilli

  4. West Virginia Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Emidio E. Pistilli

  5. Division of Exercise Physiology, Department of Human Performance and Applied Exercise Physiology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, 26506-9227, USA

    Emidio E. Pistilli

Authors
  1. Linda Nguyen
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  2. Joseph Bohlen
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  3. Janelle Stricker
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  4. Ikttesh Chahal
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  5. Hanting Zhang
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  6. Emidio E. Pistilli
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Correspondence to Emidio E. Pistilli.

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Nguyen, L., Bohlen, J., Stricker, J. et al. Hippocampus-specific deficiency of IL-15Rα contributes to greater anxiety-like behaviors in mice. Metab Brain Dis 32, 297–302 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-016-9930-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-016-9930-y

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