Limited impact of Cntn4 mutation on autism-related traits in developing and adult C57BL/6J mice

Molenhuis, Remco T.; Bruining, Hilgo; Remmelink, Esther; de Visser, Leonie; Loos, Maarten; Burbach, J. Peter H.; Kas, Martien J. H.

doi:10.1186/s11689-016-9140-2

Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Table 2 Physical and neurological features during the different phases of the extended SHIRPA primary screen.

From: Limited impact of Cntn4 mutation on autism-related traits in developing and adult C57BL/6J mice

Age (weeks)	4				6				8				Adult
Test	WT	+/−	−/−	Sig.	WT	+/−	−/−	Sig.	WT	+/−	−/−	Sig.	WT	+/−	−/−	Sig.
Subjects (n)	19	26	22		19	26	22		19	26	22		13	15	10
Body position (active)	95	96	100	0.22	100	100	100	1.00	100	96	100	0.46	100	100	100	1.00
Body position (inactive)	0	4	0		0	0	0		0	4	0		0	0	0
Body position (excessive activity)	5	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0
Tremor (absent)	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Palpebral closure (eyes open)	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Coat appearance tidy and groomed	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Whiskers (present)	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Lacrimation (absent)	100	96	100	0.45	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Defecation (quantity)	1.9	1.6	2.0	0.47	3.1	2.5	1.9	0.06	2.8	2.3	2.4	0.61	3.8	3.7	3.2	0.70
± SEM	0.3	0.3	0.3		0.3	0.3	0.3		0.4	0.3	0.4		0.7	0.7	0.9
Transfer arousal (brief freeze)	11	15	14	0.70	11	19	9	0.71	11	8	0	0.16	8	0	10	0.50
Transfer arousal (immediate movement)	89	85	86		89	81	91		89	92	100		92	100	90
Gait (fluid)	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Tail elevation (horizontal extension)	100	100	100	1.00	95	100	100	0.28	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Tail elevation (straub tail)	0	0	0		5	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0
Startle response (preyer reflex)	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Touch escape (flight prior to touch)	79	73	77	0.88	89	85	73	0.35	63	88	68	0.05	85	87	100	0.45
Touch escape (response to touch)	21	27	23		11	15	27		37	12	32		15	13	0
Positional passivity (struggles)	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Skin color (pink)	95	100	100	0.28	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Skin color (blanched)	5	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0
Trunk curl (absent)	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Limb grasping (absent)	100	92	100	0.20	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Pinna reflex (present)	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Corneal reflex (present)	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Contact righting reflex (present)	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Evidence of biting (none)	79	77	77	0.99	84	88	100	0.18	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00
Grip (OK)	100	96	100	0.36	95	96	100	0.59	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	90	0.24
Full puberty	89	81	100	0.30	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00	100	100	100	1.00

Cntn4 ^+/−, Cntn4 ^−/−, and wild-type (WT) control mice were screened in the Perspex jar for body position (active, inactive, or excessively active), tremor (present or not), palpebral closure (eyes open or not), coat appearance (well groomed or irregularities like piloerection), whiskers (intact or trimmed), and lacrimation (present or not). In the arena, the mice were screened for transfer arousal (freezing or immediate movement), gait (fluid or not), tail elevation (dragging, horizontal, or straub tail), startle response (preyer reflex, no response, or additional response), and touch escape (response to touch or flight prior to touch while finger approaches). Mice were transferred out of the arena to observe positional passivity (struggling by different types of handling), skin color (color of plantar surface of forelimbs), trunk curl (forward curling with head to abdomen), limb grasping (clasping of rear limbs), pinna reflex (presence of ear retraction), corneal reflex (presence of eyeblink), contact righting reflex, evidence of biting, grip (grasping of grid), vocalization, and puberty (presence of sex organs). Sig. represents statistical significance of between-genotype differences. Data are presented as a percentage of the total number of animals per genotypes, except for defecation (count of the fecal boli)

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ISSN: 1866-1955

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