Comprehensive behavioral phenotyping of calpastatin-knockout mice

BACKGROUND: Calpastatin is an endogenous inhibitor of calpain, intracellular calcium-activated protease. It has been suggested to be involved in molecular mechanisms of long-term plasticity and excitotoxic pathways. However, functions of calpastatin in vivo are still largely unknown. To examine the physiological roles of calpastatin, we subjected calpastatin-knockout mice to a comprehensive behavioral test battery. RESULTS: Calpastatin-knockout mice showed decreased locomotor activity under stressful environments, and decreased acoustic startle response, but we observed no significant change in hippocampus-dependent memory function. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that calpastatin is likely to be more closely associated with affective rather than cognitive aspects of brain function.