Journal article
Relaxin-3 null mutation mice display a circadian hypoactivity phenotype
CM Smith, IT Hosken, SW Sutton, AJ Lawrence, AL Gundlach
Genes Brain and Behavior | WILEY | Published : 2012
Abstract
Characterizing the neurocircuits and neurotransmitters that underlie arousal and circadian sleep/wake patterns is an important goal of neuroscience research, with potential implications for understanding human mental illnesses, such as major depression. Recent anatomical and functional studies suggest that relaxin-3 neurons and their ascending projections contribute to these functions via actions on key cortical, limbic and hypothalamic circuits. This study reports the behavioral phenotype of C57BL/6J backcrossed relaxin-3 knockout (KO) mice. Cohorts of adult, male and female relaxin-3 KO and wild-type (WT) littermate mice were subjected to a battery of behavioral tests to assess sensorimoto..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This research was supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia (AJL, ALG), a collaborative research agreement between the Howard Florey Institute and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, LLC (ALG), and the Victorian Government through the Operational Infrastructure Programme. During the course of these studies, CMS was the recipient of an NHMRC (Australia) Dora Lush Postgraduate Scholarship, and is currently a Florey Trust Fellow. AJL and ALG are NHMRC (Australia) Research Fellows. The authors wish to thank Simon Miller for his help in constructing the running wheels. We also thank the Pratt Foundation, the Besen Family Foundation, the Percy Baxter Charitable Trust and the ANZ Trustees Medical Research and Technology in Victoria for their support. Research in the laboratory of ALG was supported by a collaborative research agreement with Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, LLC (USA). SWS is a paid employee of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, LLC (USA).