The neuropeptide Pth2 modulates social behavior and anxiety in zebrafish

Lukas Anneser; Anja Gemmer; Tim Eilers; Ivan C Alcantara; Anett-Yvonn Loos; Soojin Ryu; Erin M Schuman

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.103868

The neuropeptide Pth2 modulates social behavior and anxiety in zebrafish

iScience. 2022 Feb 4;25(3):103868. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.103868. eCollection 2022 Mar 18.

Authors

Lukas Anneser¹, Anja Gemmer¹, Tim Eilers¹, Ivan C Alcantara¹, Anett-Yvonn Loos¹, Soojin Ryu^{2

3}, Erin M Schuman¹

Affiliations

¹ Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt am Main 60438, Germany.
² Living Systems Institute & College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK.
³ Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center, Mainz 55131, Germany.

Abstract

Behavior is context-dependent and often modulated by an animal's internal state. In particular, different social contexts can alter anxiety levels and modulate social behavior. The vertebrate-specific neuropeptide parathyroid hormone 2 (pth2) is regulated by the presence of conspecifics in zebrafish. As its cognate receptor, the parathyroid hormone 2 receptor (pth2r), is widely expressed across the brain, we tested fish lacking the functional Pth2 peptide in several anxiety-related and social behavior paradigms. Here, we show that the propensity to react to sudden stimuli with an escape response was increased in pth2 ^-/- zebrafish, consistent with an elevated anxiety level. While overall social preference for conspecifics was maintained in pth2 ^-/- fish until the early juvenile stage, we found that both social preference and shoaling were altered later in development. The data presented suggest that the neuropeptide Pth2 modulates several conserved behaviors and may thus enable the animal to react appropriately in different social contexts.

Keywords: Behavioral neuroscience; Biological sciences; Molecular neuroscience.