Time-course analysis of gene expression patterns in the brain of a mouse model of schizophrenia during postnatal development

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26870686
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Neurochemistry/Neuropharmacology; Neurophysiology / General neuroscience
• Research Institution: Fujita Health University
• Principal Investigator: HAGIHARA Hideo 藤田保健衛生大学, 総合医科学研究所, 助教 (80514504)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 海馬歯状回 / 神経細胞成熟異常

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Shn2 KO mice, an animal model of schizophrenia, have been shown to exhibit maturation abnormalities in the granule cells of the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG), in which the molecular and physiological properties are similar to those of normal immature granule cells. Analysis of several molecular expressions has suggested that maturation abnormalities in the cells emerge during postnatal development.
To find the molecular mechanisms responsible for maturation abnormalities of the cells, we conducted bioinformatics analyses of the microarray data examining the expression changes during postnatal development in the DG of the mutant mice. We used the following bioinformatics tools: NextBio, DAVID (Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery), WGCNA (Weighted gene co-expression network analysis), and CONFAC (Conserved Transcription Factor Biding Site) software. Several signaling pathways were implicated in the emergence of maturation abnormalities in the DG.

Free Research Field

神経科学