Behavioral profiling of SLC38A10 knockout mice using the multivariate concentric square fieldTM test

Frida A Lindberg; Erika Roman; Robert Fredriksson

doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2022.987037

Behavioral profiling of SLC38A10 knockout mice using the multivariate concentric square field^TM test

Front Behav Neurosci. 2022 Dec 22:16:987037. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.987037. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Frida A Lindberg¹, Erika Roman^{2

3}, Robert Fredriksson¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Molecular Neuropharmacology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
² Neuropharmacology and Addiction, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
³ Division of Anatomy and Physiology, Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.

Abstract

Introduction: SLC38A10 is a gene that encodes the SLC38A10 protein, also known as SNAT10. The SLC38 family is evolutionary old, and SLC38A10 is one of the oldest members of the family. It is ubiquitously expressed, and its substrates are glutamine, glutamate, alanine, aspartate, and serine. However, little is known about its biological importance.

Methods: In the current study, an SLC38A10 knockout mouse was run in the multivariate concentric square field ^TM (MCSF) test. The MCSF test gives the mouse a choice of areas to explore; sheltered areas, elevated and illuminated areas, or open spaces, and a behavioral profile is obtained. The multivariate data obtained were analyzed (i) for each parameter, (ii) parameters grouped into functional categories, and (iii) with a principal component analysis.

Results: In the trend analysis, knockout mice had a decreased exploratory behavior compared to controls but did not show a distinct grouping in the principal component analysis.

Discussion: There was not a pronounced difference in the behavioral profile in SLC38A10 knockout mice compared to their wild-type controls, although subtle alterations in zones associated with exploratory behavior and risk assessment in female and male knockout mice, respectively, could be observed. These results imply that a loss of function of the SLC38A10 protein in mice does not drastically alter behavior in the MSCF test.

Keywords: MCSF test; SLC38A10; SNAT10; amino acid transporters; behavior; exploratory behavior; phenotyping.