ePoster

Comparative study of social behavior in several mouse models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Léa Ceschi, Romane Léger, Ruben Miranda, Sylvie Granon, Cyrille Vaillend
FENS Forum 2024(2024)
Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Conference

FENS Forum 2024

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Resources

Authors & Affiliations

Léa Ceschi, Romane Léger, Ruben Miranda, Sylvie Granon, Cyrille Vaillend

Abstract

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a neuromuscular syndrome caused by mutations within the DMD gene. DMD is associated with intellectual disability, behavioral disturbances and neuropsychiatric disorders. The presence and severity of these disorders, particularly social behavior disorders, seem to vary according to the position of the mutations affecting one or more brain dystrophins. However, the genotype-phenotype relationships underlying these troubles are not defined. In this study, we explored the involvement of brain dystrophins in social disorders using several DMD mouse models. We used a social interaction test involving encounters with male and female individuals associated with recording of socially-induced ultrasonic vocalizations. We compared mice lacking one (mdx5cv), several (mdx52) or all brain dystrophins (DMD-null) and their WT littermate controls. We found that all three models show distinct context-dependent alterations in social behavior. In mdx5CV and mdx52 mice, these alterations manifest mainly as a decrease in social dominance towards female encounters. In addition, mdx52 mice displays submissive behaviors in the presence of male encounters. Dmd-null mice also display alterations in social behavior and communication, but the phenotype is not aggravated compared to the other models. Mdx52 and DMD-null mice exhibit perturbations in vocalization production, in contrast to mdx5CV mice that show no such changes. This work in DMD mouse models demonstrates that the loss of Dp427 is sufficient to induce context-dependent social behavior modifications associated with social competitive behavior. The loss of Dp140 worsens this behavioral alteration in mdx52 mice. This provides new avenues for understanding autism-related comorbidities associated with DMD.

Unique ID: fens-24/comparative-study-social-behavior-several-2d441e4e