Hypothalamic expression of Peg3 gene is associated with maternal care differences between SM/J and LG/J mouse strains

Autor(es)

Chiavegatto, Silvana ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Sauce, Bruno ^[4] ; Ambar, Guilherme ^[2] ; Cheverud, James M. ^[5] ; Peripato, Andrea C. ^{[4, 6]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biomed Sci, Dept Pharmacol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Med, Dept & Inst Psychiat, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Natl Inst Dev Psychiat Childhood & Adolescence IN, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Genet & Evolut, Biol Sci & Hlth Ctr, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[5] Washington Univ, Sch Med, Dept Anat & Neurobiol, St Louis, MO 63110 - USA

^[6] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Biosci, Santos, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR; v. 2, n. 4, p. 365-376, JUL 2012.
• Citações Web of Science: 9

Resumo

Maternal care is essential in mammals, and variations in the environment provided by mothers may directly influence the viability of newborns and emotional behavior later in life. A previous study investigated genetic variations associated with maternal care in an intercross of LG/J and SM/J inbred mouse strains and identified two single-locus QTLs (quantitative trait loci). Here, we selected three candidate genes located within these QTLs intervals; Oxt on chromosome 2, and FosB and Peg3 on chromosome 7 and tested their association with maternal care. LG/J females showed impaired postpartum nest building and pup retrieval, a one-day delay in milk ejection, reduced exploratory activity, and higher anxiety-like behavior when compared to SM/J females. The nucleotide sequences of Oxt and FosB were similar between strains, as were their hypothalamic expression levels. Conversely, Peg3 nucleotide sequences showed four nonsynonymous replacement substitutions on LG/J dams, T11062G, G13744A, A13808G, and G13813A, and a 30 base pair (10 aa) in tandem repeat in the coding region with three copies in SM/J and five copies in LG/J. Maternal care impaired LG/J mothers express 37% lower Peg3 mRNA levels in the hypothalamus on the second postpartum day. We also found an association of the Peg3 repeat-variant and poor maternal care in F-2 heterozygote females derived from a LG/J x SM/J intercross. These results may suggest that the maternally imprinted Peg3 gene is responsible for the single-locus QTL on chromosome 7 that has been shown to influence maternal care in these strains. Furthermore, these data provide additional support for an epigenetic regulation of maternal behavior. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 04/14583-9 - Bases genéticas do cuidado materno: uma visão detalhada
• Beneficiário: Andréa Cristina Peripato
• Linha de fomento: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Apoio a Jovens Pesquisadores
• Processo FAPESP: 09/01333-8 - Administração prolongada do ácido 13 cis-retinóico (isotretinoína) em camundongos machos adolescentes: comportamentos emocionais e níveis de RNA mensageiro de vários receptores de serotonina centrais
• Beneficiário: Silvana Chiavegatto
• Linha de fomento: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 05/56353-2 - Bases genetica do cuidado materno: uma visao detalhada.
• Beneficiário: Andréa Cristina Peripato
• Linha de fomento: Bolsas no Brasil - Apoio a Jovens Pesquisadores