Morphological and behavioral characterization of adult mice deficient for SrGAP3

SrGAP3 belongs to the family of Rho GTPase proteins. These proteins are thought to play essential roles in development and in the plasticity of the nervous system. SrGAP3-deficient mice have recently been created and approximately 10 % of these mice developed a hydrocephalus and died shortly after birth. The others survived into adulthood, but displayed neuroanatomical alteration, including increased ventricular size. We now show that SrGAP3-deficient mice display increased brain weight together with increased hippocampal volume. This increase was accompanied by an increase of the thickness of the stratum oriens of area CA1 as well as of the thickness of the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus (DG). Concerning hippocampal adult neurogenesis, we observed no significant change in the number of proliferating cells. The density of doublecortin-positive cells also did not vary between SrGAP3-deficient mice and controls. By analyzing Golgi-impregnated material, we found that, in SrGAP3-deficient mice, the morphology and number of dendritic spines was not altered in the DG. Likewise, a Sholl-analysis revealed no significant changes concerning dendritic complexity as compared to controls. Despite the distinct morphological alterations in the hippocampus, SrGAP3-deficient mice were relatively inconspicuous in their behavior, not only in the open-field, nest building but also in the Morris water-maze. However, the SrGAP3-deficient mice showed little to no interest in burying marbles; a behavior that is seen in some animal models related to autism, supporting the view that SrGAP3 plays a role in neurodevelopmental disorders.