Dissecting a model of depressive-related phenotype and antidepressants effects in 129S2/SvPas mice

DIAZ SL; MAROTEAUX L

Neuromethods - Serotonin Receptor Technologies

Springer

Lugar: New York; Año: 2015; p. 59 - 82

As depressive disorder becomes one of the most prevalent neuropsychiatric dysfunctions worldwide, good animal models for studying depression and uncovering new targets for antidepressants are required. Since genetic factors clearly contribute to the manifestation of depression, transgenic mouse models offer seminal tools to disentangle this complex disorder. The behavioural and neurochemical responses of transgenic mice are the result of both, the targeted or affected gene itself and its interactions with endogenous factors which, depending on the strain?s genotype may differ significantly. A well-established strain to generate transgenic mice is the 129S2/SvPas strain. However, once a transgenic strain has been established, the animals are frequently back-crossed to C57BL/6 mice. As a consequence, experimental conditions for most paradigms are well established for C57BL/6 mice, but they might not be adequately adapted for other mouse models. Here, we are describing important steps to establish a model of depressive like-state adapted to 129S2/SvPas mice. By setting the experimental conditions appropriate for 129S2/SvPas mice, costly and time-consuming backcrossing could be prevented and, most importantly, a more ethical use of laboratory animals is promoted.