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Anxiety Phenotype In Mice That Overexpress Protein Kinase A, Margaret F. Keil, George Briassoulis, Nirmal Gokarn, Maria Nesterova, T. John Wu, Constantine A. Stratakis

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

The role of cyclic adenosine monophosphate/protein kinase A (cAMP/PKA) signaling in the molecular pathways involved in fear and memory is well established. Prior studies in our lab reported that transgenic mice with an inactivating mutation in Prkar1a gene (codes for the 1-alpha regulatory subunit (R1α) of PKA) exhibited behavioral abnormalities including anxiety and depression. In the present study, we examined the role of altered PKA signaling on anxiety-like behaviors in Prkar1a^+/- mice compared to wild-type (WT) littermates. The elevated plus maze (EPM) and marble bury (MB) tests were used to assess anxiety-like behavior. The hotplate test was performed to …