AUTHOR=Dalla Vecchia Elisa , Di Donato Vincenzo , Young Andrew M. J. , Del Bene Filippo , Norton William H. J. 

TITLE=Reelin Signaling Controls the Preference for Social Novelty in Zebrafish

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00214

DOI=10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00214

ISSN=1662-5153

ABSTRACT=<p>Reelin (Reln) is an extracellular glycoprotein that is important for brain patterning. During development Reln coordinates the radial migration of postmitotic cortical neurons, cerebellar and hippocampal neurons, whereas it promotes dendrite maturation, synaptogenesis, synaptic transmission, plasticity and neurotransmitter release in the postnatal and adult brain. Genetic studies of human patients have demonstrated association between the RELN locus and autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease. In this study we have characterized the behavioral phenotype of <italic>reelin</italic> (<italic>reln</italic>) mutant zebrafish, as well as two canonical signaling pathway targets <italic>DAB adaptor protein 1a</italic> (<italic>dab1a</italic>) and the <italic>very low density lipoprotein receptor</italic> (<italic>vldlr</italic>). Zebrafish <italic>reln<sup>–/–</sup></italic> mutants display a selective reduction in preference for social novelty that is not observed in <italic>dab1a<sup>–/–</sup></italic> or <italic>vldlr<sup>–/–</sup></italic> mutant lines. They also exhibit an increase in 5-HT signaling in the hindbrain that parallels but does not underpin the alteration in social preference. These results suggest that zebrafish <italic>reln<sup>–/–</sup></italic> mutants can be used to model some aspects of human diseases in which changes to Reln signaling alter social behavior.</p>