Journal
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 11, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2017.00218
Keywords
Huntington disease; polyglutamine disease; model characterization; motor function; transgenic rat; neurodegenerative disorders; fine motor control; automated home-cage monitoring
Categories
Funding
- Marie Curie Initial Network (ITN) of the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme PhenoRat (FP7) [317259]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Rationale: Huntington disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor, cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms. HD is usually diagnosed by the appearance of motor deficits, resulting in skilled hand use disruption, gait abnormality, muscle wasting and choreatic movements. The BACHD transgenic rat model for HD represents a well-established transgenic rodent model of HD, offering the prospect of an in-depth characterization of the motor phenotype. Objective: The present study aims to characterize different aspects of motor function in BACHD rats, combining classical paradigms with novel high-throughput behavioral phenotyping. Methods: Wild-type (WT) and transgenic animals were tested longitudinally from 2 to 12 months of age. To measure fine motor control, rats were challenged with the pasta handling test and the pellet reaching test. To evaluate gross motor function, animals were assessed by using the holding bar and the grip strength tests. Spontaneous locomotor activity and circadian rhythmicity were assessed in an automated home-cage environment, namely the PhenoTyper. We then integrated existing classical methodologies to test motor function with automated home-cage assessment of motor performance. Results: BACHD rats showed strong impairment in muscle endurance at 2 months of age. Altered circadian rhythmicity and locomotor activity were observed in transgenic animals. On the other hand, reaching behavior, forepaw dexterity and muscle strength were unaffected. Conclusions: The BACHD rat model exhibits certain features of HD patients, like muscle weakness and changes in circadian behavior. We have observed modest but clear-cut deficits in distinct motor phenotypes, thus confirming the validity of this transgenic rat model for treatment and drug discovery purposes.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available