Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29415038›Full record

ArticlePloS one2018

BACHD rats expressing full-length mutant huntingtin exhibit differences in social behavior compared to wild-type littermates.

Giuseppe Manfré, Arianna Novati, Ilaria Faccini, Andrea C Rossetti, Kari Bosch, Raffaella Molteni, Marco A Riva, Johanneke E Van der Harst, Huu Phuc Nguyen, Judith R Homberg

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Giuseppe ManfréDonders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Arianna NovatiInstitute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Ilaria FacciniDepartment of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Andrea C RossettiDepartment of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Kari BoschDonders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Raffaella MolteniDepartment of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Marco A RivaDepartment of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Johanneke E Van der HarstDonders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Huu Phuc NguyenInstitute of Medical Genetics and Applied Genomics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-6139-788X
Judith R HombergDonders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Radboud University Nijmegen · NLUniversity of Milan · ITUniversity of Tübingen · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHuntington disease (HD) is a devastating inherited neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms without any cure to slow down or stop the progress of the disease. The BACHD rat model for HD carrying the human full-length mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT) with 97 polyQ repeats has been recently established as a promising model which reproduces several HD-like features. While motor and cognitive functions have been characterized in BACHD rats, little is known about their social phenotype.

objectiveThis study focuses especially on social behavior since evidence for social disturbances exists in human patients. Our objective was to compare social behavior in BACHD and wild-type (WT) rats at different ages, using two different measures of sociability.

methodsAnimals were tested longitudinally at the age of 2, 4 and 8 months in the social interaction test to examine different parameters of sociability. A separate cohort of 7 month old rats was tested in the three chamber social test to measure both sociability and social novelty. Gene expression analyses in 8 months old animals were performed by real time qRT-PCR to evaluate a potential involvement of D1 and D2 dopaminergic receptors and the contribution of Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to the observed behavioral alterations.

resultsIn the social interaction test, BACHD rats showed age-dependent changes in behaviour when they were-re introduced to their cagemate after a 24 hours-period of individual housing. The time spent on nape attacks increased with aging. Furthermore, a significant higher level of pinning at 2 months of age was shown in the BACHD rats compared to wild-types, followed by a reduction at 4 and 8 months. On the other hand, BACHD rats exhibited a decreased active social behaviour compared to wild-types, reflected by genotype-effects on approaching, following and social nose contact. In the three chamber social test, BACHD rats seemed to show a mild deficit in preference for social novelty, but no changes in social interest. Molecular analyses revealed that BACHD animals exposed to the social interaction test displayed decreased mRNA levels of the total form of BDNF in ventral striatum and unaltered striatal expression of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors.

conclusionsTaken together, these results indicate deficits in several parameters representative of sociability. Altered BDNF expression in the ventral striatum may contribute to the deficits in sociability in 8 months old BACHD rats. These data support the validity of the BACHD rat model in mimicking features of certain social deficits that could be relevant to symptoms in patients.

Indexed as

Behavior, AnimalDisease Models, AnimalMutationSocial BehaviorAnimalsBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCorpus StriatumHuntingtin ProteinHuntington DiseaseRatsReal-Time Polymerase Chain ReactionReceptors, Dopamine D1Receptors, Dopamine D2Brain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorHtt protein, ratHuntingtin ProteinReceptors, Dopamine D1Receptors, Dopamine D2

Identifiers

PMID29415038
PMCPMC5802907
OpenAlexW2790406738

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.