Behavioral alterations in mice lacking SPARC

DEPINO AM; BENEDETTI L; LUCCHINA L; PODHAJCER O; PITOSSI F

Huerta Grande, Córdoba, Argentina

Taller; I Reunion Conjunta de Neurociencias; 2009

Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias - Taller de Neurociencias

SPARC (secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine) is a matricellular protein that is highly expressed during development, tissue remodeling, and repair. In the brain, SPARC is expressed by radial glia during embryogenesis and postnatal development. In adulthood, SPARC expression is restricted to the SVZ, the Bergmann glial cells in the cerebellum, and the molecular layer of the hippocampus. Moreover, SPARC expression is upregulated in the denervated hippocampus, suggesting a role of this molecule in synaptic plasticity. However, the role of SPARC in modulating brain function has not been studied. We performed behavioral analysis of SPARC knockout (KO) and heterocygotic mice to test whether SPARC affects higher brain functions. We found that SPARC KO mice show normal locomotor activity but reduced exploration in the open field and the novel object exploration tests. SPARC KO mice showed reduced reactivity to spatial novelty, but normal reactivity to a novel object. We observed no differences among genotypes in habituation, showing normal non-associative memory. SPARC KO mice showed increased anxiety-related behavior in the open field and light-dark tests. Finally, SPARC KO mice showed reduced depression-related behavior in the tail suspension and forced swimming tests. This is the first behavioral characterization of mice with altered expression of SPARC. These results suggest a role of SPARC in modulating behavioral programming and/or adult behavior.