| First Author | Mayeux-Portas V | Year | 2000 |
| Journal | Curr Biol | Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 68-75 |
| PubMed ID | 10662668 | Mgi Jnum | J:59948 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1352330 | Doi | 10.1016/s0960-9822(99)00278-x |
| Citation | Mayeux-Portas V, et al. (2000) Mice lacking the cell adhesion molecule Thy-1 fail to use socially transmitted cues to direct their choice of food. Curr Biol 10(2):68-75 |
| abstractText | BACKGROUND: Thy-1 is a major cell-surface glycoprotein of mature neurons and certain other cells, including those of the lymphoreticular system. Despite being the simplest member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, the biological role of Thy-1 has proved elusive. Analysis of Thy-1 null mice has shown the presence of excessive GABAergic inhibition of neurotransmission in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation selectively, without any neurological or behavioural effects being apparent. RESULTS: We show here that Thy-1 null mice are unable to make the appropriate dietary choice in the test for social transmission of food preference, despite showing a normal level of social interaction with the demonstrator mouse, normal neophobia, and normal learning in a T-maze using scented food as cues. The mice also performed normally in tests of anxiety, locomotor activity, exploration of a novel environment, habituation to novelty and spatial learning. This phenotype is maintained on two different strain backgrounds, is rescued by transgenic expression of Thy-1 and by administration of the GABA(A) receptor antagonist pentylenetetrazole. CONCLUSIONS: The test for social transmission of food preference is based on the normal ability of mice in a colony to learn from each other which foods are safe to eat. The lack of this key survival behaviour in Thy-1 null mice could act as an evolutionary pressure point to conserve expression of Thy-1. Furthermore, the specific cognitive defect caused by inactivation of the Thy-1 gene suggests that it would be worthwhile to determine the role of Thy-1 in certain human familial forms of mental retardation that map to chromosome 11q22-23 in the region of the Thy-1 locus rather than the nearby ataxia telangiectasia locus. |
