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Advanced Neurology Voluntary running effects in PTEN knockout mouse

A B

Figure 1. Determination of total body mass and food consumption. (A) Determination of the difference in food intake between the 1 and 10 days after
th
st
voluntary exercise. (B) The total body mass of animals measured on the 1 and 10 days after voluntary physical exercise. Values are expressed as mean ±
st
th
standard error of the mean (sedentary WT [SWT], n = 8; sedentary HT (SHT), n = 7; exercise WT (EWT), n = 7; and exercise HT (EHT), n = 6). In (A),
***P < 0.001 for EWT versus SWT and EHT versus SHT. In (B), *P < 0.05 for the exercise group versus the sedentary group. Food intake data were analyzed
by repeated measures of two-way ANOVA followed by Turkey post-test. Repeated measures of three-way ANOVA were performed to evaluate body mass
changes over the time course for each group.
Abbreviations: WT: Wild-type; HT: Heterozygous; ANOVA: Analysis of variance.
3.3. Voluntary running induced no changes in disorder, such as abnormalities in social behavior. A social
anxiety-like behavior and locomotor activity interaction task was performed to verify whether a 10-day
Open field and elevated plus maze apparatus were used to voluntary running protocol could alter social behavior in
assess anxiety-like behavior in all experimental groups. In PTEN mice.
addition, locomotor activity was also evaluated in the open This task was performed in a chamber divided into
field. Results for the time spent in the closed and open three compartments, and the test was divided into two
arms of the elevated plus maze, as well as at the center and phases: First, an unfamiliar mouse was placed in one part
periphery of the open field, were analyzed as a within- of the chamber, while the other part of the apparatus was
subjects factor, considering the time spent in different empty. Ten minutes later, in the second part of this task, we
areas. The time spent in different areas of the apparatus is a introduced a novel mouse to one part of the chamber and a
repeated measure of the same subject . familiar mouse to the other part of the chamber.
[44]
In the open field task, all groups exhibited similar During the first phase of the test, which is related to
exploratory activity in the open field apparatus (interaction sociability, we did not observe any differences among the
factor, F[1,33] = 0.2956, P = 0.5903; genotype factor, groups (chamber factor [F×N], F[1,70] = 0.4201, P = 0.5190;
F[1,33] = 0.1084, P = 0.7440; and treatment factor, group factor, F[3,70] = 0.7762, P = 0.5112; and interaction
F[1,33] = 1.280, P = 0.2661) (Figure 2B). Regarding factor, F[3,70] = 0.2378, P = 0.8697) (Figure 4A).
the time spent in each zone of the open field, all groups +/+
explored the periphery more than the center of the During the second phase of the test, sedentary PTEN
apparatus (interaction factor, F[3,65] = 6.473, P = 0.0007; mice spent more time with the novel mouse compared to the
group factor, F[3,65] = 0.1140, P = 0.9516; and zone factor, familiar one (P = 0.0120), and a deficit in social recognition
F[1,65] = 262.0, P < 0.0001) (Figure 3A). memory was observed in PTEN +/- mice (P = 0.0268).
Voluntary running did not counteract this effect in
In relation to the elevated plus maze, we observed that PTEN animals (P = 0.7373). Although not statistically
+/-
all groups explored the closed arms more than the open significant, physical exercise showed a tendency to keep
ones (interaction factor, F[3,59] = 4.574, P = 0.0060; social recognition memory in PTEN mice (P = 0.1318)
+/+
group factor, F[3,59] = 0.7239, P = 0.5417; and arm factor, (group factor, F[3,68] = 1.273, P = 0.2907; chamber factor
F[1,59] = 1.375, P < 0.0001] (Figure 3B). [F×N], F[1,68] = 6.472, P = 0.0132; and interaction factor,
Taken together, the data from the open field and elevated F[3,68] = 1.170, P = 0.3276) (Figure4B).
plus maze data indicate that neither voluntary running nor
genotype-induced changes in anxiety-like behavior. 3.5. Voluntary physical exercise maintained a
positive effect on fear memory
3.4. Voluntary physical exercise did not rescue social To investigate the effect of voluntary running on fear
recognition memory in PTEN mice memory, an inhibitory avoidance task was performed.
+/-
According to the literature, PTEN-deleted animals present In this task, the animals were placed in an illuminated
some characteristics that resemble autism spectrum compartment of the apparatus, and the latency to enter

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2023) 5 https://doi.org/10.36922/an.0872