Fear decrease in transgenic mice overexpressing bcl-2 in neurons.
Neuronal destruction in the amygdala, hypothalamus and cerebellum provokes a diminution in anxiety and neophobia. In transgenic mice that express the human bcl-2 gene under the control of neuron specific enolase promotor (Hu-bcl-2), BCL-2 overexpression reduces the naturally occurring neuronal death, producing an increase of the number of neurons and brain size. Since BCL-2 over-expression has been observed in different parts of the brain and especially in the amygdaloid nuclei, the hypothalamus and the cerebellum, we studied the fear-related behavior of these transgenic mice. Hu-bcl-2 transgenic mice showed a decrease in anxiety and neophobia, indicating that, for this particular behavior, supernumerary neurons elicit the same modification as that observed after neuronal destruction.
Rondi-Reig
L
L
Laboratoire de Neurobiologie du Développement et Institut des Neurosciences (URA CNRS 1488), Université P. et M. Curie, Paris, France.
Lemaigre Dubreuil
Y
Y
Martinou
J C
JC
Delhaye-Bouchaud
N
N
Caston
J
J
Mariani
J
J
D000818:Animals; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000235:genetics; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis
D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase