Maternal Genotype Can Influence the Outcome of a Study on Mutant Animals

• Published in: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2004-06, Vol.1018 (1), p.477-479
• Main Authors: ZELENA, DÓRA, MERGL, ZSUZSA, MAKARA, GÁBOR B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acute stress; adrenocorticotropic hormone; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone - blood; Animals; Arginine Vasopressin - genetics; Arginine Vasopressin - physiology; Brattleboro; corticosterone; Female; Genotype; Male; prolactin; Rats; Rats, Brattleboro; restraint; vasopressin
• ISSN: 0077-8923; 1749-6632
• DOI: 10.1196/annals.1296.058

: The hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis plays a crucial role in stress. One of its central regulatory components is arginine‐vasopressin (AVP). We studied the role of AVP in acute restraint in AVP‐deficient mutant Brattleboro rats (AVP−), but our results were variable. The early life period is important in the later stress reactivity of the animals. We realized that our AVP− pups could be born from AVP+ (heterozygous) or from AVP− mothers. Therefore, we asked whether the genotype of the mother could explain the variability. Adult rats from AVP+ and AVP− mothers were stressed with 60 min of restraint. Trunk blood was collected for measuring hormone content by radioimmunoassay. All offspring of AVP+ mothers had similar adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) responses to restraint, whereas the AVP− rats born to AVP− mothers showed reduced ACTH reactivity. Our results show that the AVP− genotype of the mother can decrease the stress reactivity of AVP− Brattleboro rats. In mutant/knockout animals, family background should be taken into account as well as the genotype of the studied animals.