Fig. 3: CatB knockout mice exhibit depressive behaviors and impaired activity of neurons in the layer 6 of mPFC.
From: Cathepsin B deficiency disrupts cortical development via PEG3, leading to depression-like behavior
A Experimental timeline. B–D Immobility time in tail suspension test (TST), forced swim test (FST), and percent of sucrose consumption in 2-month-old WT, CatB+/−, and CatB−/− mice. n = 12, 9, 9 for (B); n = 8, 7, 8 for (C); n = 10, 8, 8 for (D). E Behavioral assessment of mice subjected to 0 days and 10 days of chronic restraint stress (CRS) on mean time spent immobile in TST. Before CRS: n = 12 (WT), 9 (CatB+/− and CatB−/−); After CRS: n = 10 (WT), 7 (CatB+/−), 6 (CatB−/−). F Representative images of cfos expression in the PVT of WT and CatB−/− mice. Scale bars were 100 μm. G Quantification of c-Fos–positive cells in the PVT (n = 6 WT, 5 KO). H Schematic diagram of retrograde neuronal circuit tracing. I, J CTB-555–labeled cells in PVT (I) and in layer 6 of the insular cortex and PFC (J). Scale bars, 1 mm. n = 5 mice. Scale bars were 1 mm. K Schematic illustration of recordings from layer 6 pyramidal neurons in the mPFC in acute brain slices. L Frequencies of induced APs at different current steps. M Raw traces and averaged traces of sEPSC. N, O Summary result of averaged sEPSC frequency and amplitude. n = 5 mice per group; 21 cells (WT), 20 cells (CatB−/−). *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001. Error bars represent mean ± SEM.
