Behavior, Memory, and Immunological Status in Mice in a Model of Desynchronosis

Abstract

Interstrain differences in behavior and parameters of the immune system of CBA and C57BL/6 mice with round the clock coverage (KO) were investigated. Open field, light/dark, acoustic startle response, forced swimming, elevated plus-maze, passive avoidance were used for measuring emotional behavior and memory. The number of lymphocyte subpopulations CD3+, CD4+8-, CD4-8+, CD4+8+, CD19+, CD3+hi spleen and thymus, the ratio of cells in different phases of the cell cycle was determined by flow cytometry. C57BL/6J mice strictly increased anxiety in response to the KO compared to CBA mice. Moreover, KO-treated C57BL/6J mice impaired the passive avoidance learning. We found that KO evoked significant changes in the cellular composition of the thymus and decrease of thymocytes proliferation in C57BL/6J mice. In opposite KO-treated CBA mice showed change of splenic cellular structure with increased % CD19+ cells and the proliferation of splenocytes. Our study demonstrated genotype-dependent reactions of the nervous and immune systems in response chronic constant light.