Behavioral and genetic differences among Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats from different vendors and different breeders have long been observed, but generally overlooked. In our prior work, we found that two closely related WKY substrains, the WKY/NCrl and WKY/NHsd rats, differ in a small percentage of their genome which appeared to be highly enriched for autism risk genes. Although both substrains have been used widely in studies of hypertension, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression, they have not been tested for any autism-related behavioral phenotypes. Furthermore, these two substrains have often been used interchangeably in previous studies; no study has systematically examined the phenotypic differences that could be attributed by their small yet potentially meaningful genetic differences. In this paper we compared these two substrains on a battery of neurobehavioral tests. Although two substrains were similar in locomotor activity, WKY/NCrl rats were significantly different from WKY/NHsd rats in the elevated plus maze test, as well as measures of social interaction and ultrasonic vocalization. These strains were also compared with Sprague Dawley (SD) rats, a common outbred strain, and spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR), an inbred rat model for ADHD and hypertension, which were derived from the same ancestor strain as the WKY strains. Our behavioral findings suggest that WKY/NCrl rats may be useful as a model autism spectrum disorders due to their lower social interest, lower ultrasonic vocalization and higher anxiety levels when WKY/NHsd rats are used as the control strain. Given the small genetic difference between the two inbred substrains, future studies to identify the exact gene and sequence variants that differ between the two may be useful for identifying the genetic mechanisms underlying these behaviors.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders which begin in childhood and persist into adulthood. They cause lifelong impairments and are associated with substantial burdens to patients, families, and society. Genetic studies have implicated the sodium/proton exchanger (NHE) nine gene, Slc9a9, to ASDs and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD). Slc9a9 encodes, NHE9, a membrane protein of the late recycling endosomes. The recycling endosome plays an important role in synapse development and plasticity by regulating the trafficking of membrane neurotransmitter receptors and transporters. Here we tested the hypothesis that Slc9a9 knock-out (KO) mice would show ADHD-like and ASD-like traits. Ultrasonic vocalization (USV) recording showed that Slc9a9 KO mice emitted fewer calls and had shorter call durations, which suggest communication impairment. Slc9a9 KO mice lacked a preference for social novelty, but did not show deficits in social approach; Slc9a9 KO mice spent more time self-grooming, an indicator for restricted and repetitive behavior. We did not observe hyperactivity or other behavior impairments which are commonly comorbid with ASDs in human, such as anxiety-like behavior. Our study is the first animal behavior study that links Slc9a9 to ASDs. By eliminatingNHE9 activity, it provides strong evidence that lack of Slc9a9leads to ASD-like behaviors in mice and provides the field with a new mouse model of ASDs.

The stimulant, methylphenidate (MPH), is commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and has been increasingly prescribed for school age children and adolescents. Concerns regarding its long-term effects on later substance use disorders (SUDs) have been raised.Previous animal studies have produced contradictory results regarding whether early exposure to MPH increases or protects against SUD in adulthood. The goal of our study was to determine if clinically relevant doses of MPH during adolescence alter cocaine responsiveness in adulthood in a rat model of ADHD, the spontaneous hypertensive rat (SHR).We pretreated SHRs with saline or MPH (2.5 mg/kg once or twice day) via oral gavage during their dark cycle from postnatal day 35 (p35) to p44.Adult rats (p80) were assessed in an eight-session cocaine-conditioned place preference test (CPP). Four doses of cocaine were administered via intraperitoneal injection (i.p.) during the conditioning sessions: 1, 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg. Once per day MPH treatment had a small sensitizing effect on baseline general locomotor activity in a novel environment at p80 as well as a limited suppressive effect on reward-specific locomotor activity as measured by the decreased preference to enter the cocaine-paired chamber. This treatment did not have any effect on the amount of time that rats chose to spend in the cocaine-paired chamber. Twice per day MPH treatment had no effect on locomotion or drug-preference. Our Open Access