Mouse models are frequently used to study Huntington's disease (HD). The onset and severity of neuronal and behavioral pathologies vary greatly between HD mouse models, which results from different huntingtin expression levels and different CAG repeat length. HD pathology appears to depend also on the strain background of mouse models. Thus, behavioral deficits of HD mice are more severe in the FVB than in the C57BL/6 background. Alterations in medium spiny neuron (MSN) morphology and function have been well documented in young YAC128 mice in the FVB background. Here, we tested the relevance of strain background for mutant huntingtin (mHTT) toxicity on the cellular level by investigating HD pathologies in YAC128 mice in the C57BL/6 background (YAC128/BL6). Morphology, spine density, synapse function and membrane properties were not or only subtly altered in MSNs of 12-month-old YAC128/BL6 mice. Despite the mild cellular phenotype, YAC128/BL6 mice showed deficits in motor performance. More pronounced alterations in MSN function were found in the HdhQ150 mouse model in the C57BL/6 background (HdhQ150/BL6). Consistent with the differences in HD pathology, the number of inclusion bodies was considerably lower in YAC128/BL6 mice than HdhQ150/BL6 mice. This study highlights the relevance of strain background for mHTT toxicity in HD mouse models.
Keywords: C57BL/6; HdhQ150; Huntington’s disease; YAC128; extrasynaptic NMDAR; strain background; synaptic pathology.