Facilitated stimulus-response associative learning and long-term memory in mice lacking the NTAN1 amidase of the N-end rule pathway |
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Authors: | Balogh S A McDowell C S Tae Kwon Y Denenberg V H |
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Affiliation: | Biobehavioral Sciences Graduate Degree Program, University of Connecticut, 3107 Horsebarn Hill Road, Storrs, CT 06269-4154, USA. |
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Abstract: | The N-end rule relates the in vivo half-life of a protein to the identity of its N-terminal residue. Inactivation of the NTAN1 gene encoding the asparagine-specific N-terminal amidase in mice results in impaired spatial memory [26]. The studies described here were designed to further characterize the effects upon learning and memory of inactivating the NTAN1 gene. NTAN1-deficient mice were found to be better than wild-type mice on black-white and horizontal-vertical discrimination learning. They were also better at 8-week Morris maze retention testing when a reversal trial was not included in the testing procedures. In all three tasks NTAN1-deficient mice appeared to use a strong win-stay strategy. It is concluded that inactivating the asparagine-specific branch of the N-end rule pathway in mice results in impaired spatial learning with concomitant compensatory restructuring of the nervous system in favor of non-spatial (stimulus-response) learning. |
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Keywords: | Non-spatial learning Ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation N-end rule pathway NTAN1 amidase Long-term retention Spatial learning |
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