The neuropeptide arginine-vasopressin (AVP) has long been implicated in the regulation of social behavior and communication in diverse taxa, but the source of AVP release relevant for behavior has not been precisely determined. Potential sources include hypothalamic cell populations such as the paraventricular (PVN), supraoptic, and suprachiasmatic nuclei, as well as extrahypothalamic cell groups in the extended amygdala. To address if AVP cells in the PVN are important for mouse social communication, we deleted PVN AVP-expressing cells using viral-mediated delivery of Cre-dependent caspase-9 suicide construct into the PVN of AVP-Cre-positive mice (expressing Cre-recombinase under the control of the AVP promoter) or AVP-Cre-negative littermate controls, and assessed their levels of social investigation, social communication, anxiety, sex behavior, and aggression. We found that these lesions increased social investigation in females, but not in males. However, in males but not in females, these lesions increased non-social anxiety-related behaviors in the elevated-plus maze. These results therefore point at differential involvement of PVN AVP-expressing cells in the context of social and emotional behavior in the two sexes, which may contribute to sex differences in social communication and anxiety disorders.


中文翻译：

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下丘脑室旁核加压素细胞控制社会调查和焦虑的性别差异。

神经肽精氨酸加压素 (AVP) 长期以来一直参与调节不同类群的社会行为和交流，但与行为相关的 AVP 释放的来源尚未准确确定。潜在来源包括下丘脑细胞群，例如室旁 (PVN)、视上核和视交叉上核，以及延伸杏仁核中的下丘脑外细胞群。为了解决 PVN 中的 AVP 细胞是否对小鼠社交交流很重要，我们使用病毒介导的 Cre 依赖性 caspase-9 自杀构建体向 AVP-Cre 阳性小鼠（表达 Cre- AVP 启动子控制下的重组酶）或 AVP-Cre 阴性同窝对照，并评估其社会调查、社会交流、焦虑、性行为、和侵略。我们发现这些病变增加了女性的社会调查，但男性没有。然而，在男性而非女性中，这些病变增加了高架十字迷宫中与社交焦虑无关的行为。因此，这些结果表明 PVN AVP 表达细胞在两种性别的社会和情感行为背景下的不同参与，这可能导致社会交流和焦虑症中的性别差异。