Fig. 2: NEXMIF restoration rescues novel object discrimination and repetitive grooming in adolescent Nexmif KO mice. | Translational Psychiatry

Fig. 2: NEXMIF restoration rescues novel object discrimination and repetitive grooming in adolescent Nexmif KO mice.

From: Restoration of NEXMIF expression rescues abnormalities in gene transcription, neuron maturation and autistic-like behaviors in Nexmif knockout mice

Fig. 2

A Paradigm for the Novel Object Recognition Test. During the two-day habituation phase (left panel), the test mouse was placed in the center of the arena and allowed to move freely within the environment for 5 min. During the familiarization phase on the third day (middle panel), two identical objects were placed diagonally from each other, and the test mouse was allowed to explore the objects for 10 min. Four hours later during the test phase (right panel), one of the identical (familiar) objects was replaced with a novel object, and the test mouse was allowed to interact with both objects for 5 min. B Traces of mouse track paths during the familiarization phase for WT + CTRL, KO + CTRL, and KO + NEX mice. C Quantification of the exploration time during familiarization revealed no preference for either of the identical objects within each group of injected mice (n = 9 WT + CTRL, 6 KO + CTRL, 7 KO + NEX mice). D Traces of mouse track paths during the test phase for WT + CTRL, KO + CTRL, and KO + NEX mice. The star indicates the location of the novel object. E Quantification of the exploration time during the test phase revealed that adolescent KO + CTRL mice showed impaired novel object recognition, which was rescued by ICV injection of LV-NEXMIF in the KO + NEX mice. F, Grooming assay: mice were singly recorded for grooming behavior (paw licking, face cleaning, and ear/back scratching) in their home cage for 10 min. G Quantification of the time spent grooming revealed that relative to WT + CTRL mice (n = 7), KO + CTRL mice (n = 5) spent an increased amount of time grooming. However, this repetitive overgrooming phenotype was rescued in KO + NEX mice (n = 6). Data are represented as average ± SEM. Two-way ANOVA with Sidak’s multiple comparisons test (C,E) or One-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test (G). *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ****p < 0.0001. ns, Not significant. Figure 2A, F created with Biorender.com.

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