ABSTRACT

Enriched environment (EE) is an important animal experimental paradigm to decipher gene-environment interaction. It is thought to be efficient in aiding recovery from certain metabolism disorders or cognitive impairments. Recently, the effects of EE during adolescence in mice gradually draw much attention. We first established an EE model in adolescent mice, dissected lipid metabolism, and further examined baseline level of anxiety and depression by multiple behavioral tests, including open field test (OFT), elevated zero maze (EZM), tail suspension test (TST), and forced swimming test (FST). EE mice exhibited lower weights, lower cholesterol than standard housing (SH) mice. Behaviorally, EE mice traveled more distance and had higher velocity than SH mice in OFT and EZM. Besides, EE mice showed reduced anxiety levels in OFT and EZM. Furthermore, EE mice also had less immobility time than SH mice in TST and FST. Thus, these results suggest that EE during adolescence has metabolic and behavioral benefits in mice.

摘要

丰富的环境 (EE) 是破译基因-环境相互作用的重要动物实验范例。它被认为可以有效地帮助从某些新陈代谢障碍或认知障碍中恢复过来。近年来，EE对小鼠青春期的影响逐渐引起人们的关注。我们首先在青春期小鼠中建立了EE模型，解剖了脂质代谢，并通过多种行为测试进一步检测了焦虑和抑郁的基线水平，包括开放场测试（OFT）、高架零迷宫（EZM）、悬尾测试（TST）、和强迫游泳试验（FST）。EE 小鼠表现出比标准住房 (SH) 小鼠更低的体重和更低的胆固醇。在行为上，EE 小鼠比 OFT 和 EZM 中的 SH 小鼠行进更远并且速度更快。此外，EE 小鼠在 OFT 和 EZM 中表现出焦虑水平降低。此外，在 TST 和 FST 中，EE 小鼠的不动时间也少于 SH 小鼠。因此，这些结果表明，青春期的 EE 对小鼠的代谢和行为有益。