Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) mapping has been performed during the past decades in an attempt to identify genes, gene products and mechanisms underlying numerous quantitative traits. It’s a strategy based on natura...Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) mapping has been performed during the past decades in an attempt to identify genes, gene products and mechanisms underlying numerous quantitative traits. It’s a strategy based on natural variations in genes and gene products, which facilitates translation from animal models to human clinical conditions. Our team has shown that the inbred rat strains Lewis (LEW) and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) differ with respect to several emotionality- related behaviors, one of which (inner locomotion in the open field) was strongly influenced by a QTL (Anxrr16) on rat chromosome 4. Since then, several other studies not only corroborated the initial description of Anxrr16, but also extrapolated its effects to a broader context (rats from both sexes and regardless of the estrous cycle phase) and suggested that this same region influences other emotionality-related behaviors as well as alcohol intake. Other QTLs affecting neurobiological traits were also found on rat chromosome 4 and several candidate genes have been pointed out as possibly influencing those phenotypes. Altogether, these studies suggest that rat chromosome 4 constitutes an interesting target for the study of the molecular bases of anxiety and other traits related to emotional reactivity.展开更多
文摘Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) mapping has been performed during the past decades in an attempt to identify genes, gene products and mechanisms underlying numerous quantitative traits. It’s a strategy based on natural variations in genes and gene products, which facilitates translation from animal models to human clinical conditions. Our team has shown that the inbred rat strains Lewis (LEW) and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) differ with respect to several emotionality- related behaviors, one of which (inner locomotion in the open field) was strongly influenced by a QTL (Anxrr16) on rat chromosome 4. Since then, several other studies not only corroborated the initial description of Anxrr16, but also extrapolated its effects to a broader context (rats from both sexes and regardless of the estrous cycle phase) and suggested that this same region influences other emotionality-related behaviors as well as alcohol intake. Other QTLs affecting neurobiological traits were also found on rat chromosome 4 and several candidate genes have been pointed out as possibly influencing those phenotypes. Altogether, these studies suggest that rat chromosome 4 constitutes an interesting target for the study of the molecular bases of anxiety and other traits related to emotional reactivity.
