Fluoxetine rescues deficient neurogenesis in hippocampus of the Ts65Dn mouse model for Down syndrome

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Sarah Clarka, Jennifer Schwalbea, Melissa R. Staskob, Paul J. Yarowskya, , and Alberto C.S. Costab, c

aDept. of Pharmacology and Exp. Therapeutics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 655 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-1509, USA

bEleanor Roosevelt Institute, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80206, USA

cDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Health Science Center, Denver, CO 80262, USA

Received 20 November 2005; 

revised 2 February 2006; 

accepted 6 February 2006. 

Available online 19 April 2006.

Abstract

The Ts65Dn mouse, an adult model of Down syndrome displays behavioral deficits consistent with a dysfunctional hippocampus, similar to that seen with DS. In looking for mechanisms underlying these performance deficits, we have assessed adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of Ts65Dn. Under untreated conditions, Ts65Dn mice (2–5 months old) showed markedly fewer BrdU-labeled cells than euploid animals. Chronic antidepressant treatment for over 3 weeks with the serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine, increased neurogenesis in the Ts65Dn to comparable levels seen in the euploid by augmenting both proliferation and survival of BrdU-labeled cells in the subgranular layer and granule cell layer of the hippocampus, respectively.