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Decreased Number and Expression of nNOS-Positive Interneurons in Basolateral Amygdala in Two Mouse Models of Autism

The basolateral amygdala (BLA) controls socio-emotional behaviors and is involved in the etiology of autism. We have recently shown that virtually every neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) positive cell is a GABAergic inhibitory interneuron in the mouse BLA. Here, stereology was used to quantify t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Wang, Xiaona, Guo, Jisheng, Song, Yinsen, Wang, Qi, Hu, Shunan, Gou, Lingshan, Gao, Yinbo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6099087/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30150925
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2018.00251
Descripción
Sumario:The basolateral amygdala (BLA) controls socio-emotional behaviors and is involved in the etiology of autism. We have recently shown that virtually every neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) positive cell is a GABAergic inhibitory interneuron in the mouse BLA. Here, stereology was used to quantify the number of nNOS-expressing interneurons in valproic acid (VPA)-exposed C57BL/6J (B6) and BTBR T(+)Itpr3(tf)/J (BTBR) mice models of autism. Additionally, the protein and mRNA levels of nNOS in the BLA were quantitatively assessed by western blot and qRT-PCR analysis, respectively. Our results showed the decreased number of nNOS interneurons in the BLA of animal models relative to autism. Consistently, nNOS was significantly reduced in the VPA-exposed and BTBR mice at both protein and mRNA levels. Together, these preliminary findings suggest that down-regulation of nNOS may be an attractive target for the pharmacological intervention in autism.