Manipulating a Single Gene Defines a New Pathway to Anxiety

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Removing a single gene from the brains of mice and zebrafish causes these animals to become more anxious than normal. Researchers from University of Utah Health show that eliminating the gene encoding Lef1 disrupts the development of certain nerve cells in the hypothalamus that affect stress and anxiety. These results are the first implication that Lef1 functions in the hypothalamus to mediate behavior, knowledge that could prove useful for diagnosing and treating human brain disorders.

“Anxiety is an essential behavior that is much more complex than we thought,” says first author Yuanyuan Xie, Ph.D., who led the research in collaboration with senior author Richard Dorsky, Ph.D., professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy at U of U Health. Lef1 is a component of the Wnt signaling pathway, which has roles in animal development, physiology, and disease.

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