The role of ciliopathy-associated type 3 adenylyl cyclase in infanticidal behavior in virgin adult male mice

Xiangbo Wu; Dong Yang; Yanfen Zhou; Shujuan Li; Zhenshan Wang

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.104534

The role of ciliopathy-associated type 3 adenylyl cyclase in infanticidal behavior in virgin adult male mice

iScience. 2022 Jun 4;25(7):104534. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104534. eCollection 2022 Jul 15.

Authors

Xiangbo Wu¹, Dong Yang¹, Yanfen Zhou¹, Shujuan Li¹, Zhenshan Wang¹

Affiliation

¹ College of Life Science, Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China.

Abstract

Virgin adult male mice often display killing of alien newborns, defined as infanticide, and this behavior is dependent on olfactory signaling. Olfactory perception is achieved by the main olfactory system (MOS) or vomeronasal system (VNS). Although it has been established that the VNS is crucial for infanticide in male mice, the role of the MOS in infanticide remains unknown. Herein, by producing lesions via ZnSO₄ perfusion and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid stereotactic injection, we demonstrated that the main olfactory epithelium (MOE), anterior olfactory nucleus (AON), or ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) is crucial for infanticide in adult males. By using CRISPR-Cas9 coupled with adeno-associated viruses to induce specific knockdown of type 3 adenylyl cyclase (AC3) in these tissues, we further demonstrated that AC3, a ciliopathy-associated protein, in the MOE and the expression of related proteins in the AON or VMH are necessary for infanticidal behavior in virgin adult male mice.

Keywords: Behavioral neuroscience; Biological sciences; Cellular neuroscience; Neuroscience.