title: Fecal corticosterone levels in RCAN1 mutant mice.
abstract: Regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) is related to the expression of human neurologic disorders such as Down syndrome, Alzheimer disease, and chromosome 21q deletion syndrome. We showed here that RCAN1-knockout mice exhibit reduced innate anxiety as indicated by the elevated-plus  maze. To examine whether glucocorticoids contribute to this phenotype, we measured fecal corticosterone in male wildtype and RCAN1-knockout mice and in male and female transgenic mice with neuronal overexpression of RCAN1 (Tg-RCAN1(TG)). We found no difference  in fecal corticosterone levels of RCAN1-knockout mice and their wildtype littermates. As expected, we found differences between sexes in fecal corticosterone levels. In addition, we found higher levels of excreted corticosterone in Tg-RCAN1(TG) female mice as compared  with female wildtype mice. Our data indicate normal diurnal corticosterone production in RCAN1 mutant mice and do not suggest a causal role in either the cognitive or anxiety phenotypes exhibited by RCAN1-knockout mice.
authors.affiliation: Division of Laboratory Animal Resources, NYU Langone Medical Center-School of Medicine, USA. rakowt01@nyumc.org
authors.forename: Tammy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rakowski-Anderson
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Beverly
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rothermel
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cain
authors.forename: Carmencita
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lavilla
authors.forename: Jennifer K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Pullium
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hoeffer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009043:Motor Activity; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D017440:Photoperiod; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; C511512:DSCR1 protein, mouse; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D003345:Corticosterone