Abnormal maternal behavior in mice lacking phospholipase Cβ1.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Biology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Maternal behavior involves hormonal and neural changes across distinct phases: preparation, onset, and maintenance.
• Key signaling pathways, including G-protein-coupled receptors and plasma membrane enzymes like phospholipase C (PLC) β isoforms, regulate maternal actions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of Phospholipase C beta 1 (PLCβ1) in maternal behavior.
• To determine the impact of PLCβ1 knockout (KO) on the different phases of maternal care and associated neural mechanisms.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of maternal behavior between PLCβ1 knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) dams.
• Assessment of pup retrieval latency and pup survival rates.
• Measurement of FosB expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and medial preoptic area (mPOA).

Main Results:

• PLCβ1-KO dams showed normal maternal behavior initially but neglected pups after 18 hours postpartum (PPH 18), leading to pup death.
• Pup retrieval was impaired in PLCβ1-KO dams after PPH 18.
• FosB expression was reduced in the NAcc of PLCβ1-KO dams, but not in the mPOA.

Conclusions:

• PLCβ1 signaling is essential for the transition from the onset to the maintenance phase of maternal behavior.
• The findings implicate PLCβ1 in the NAcc, a region critical for maternal motivation and behavior maintenance.