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Creative Biolabs

Schizophrenia Mouse Model Development Services

Are you currently facing long drug development cycles, limited translational predictability, or challenges in identifying novel therapeutic targets for schizophrenia? Our schizophrenia mouse models development services help you accelerate drug discovery and obtain high-quality, phenotypically relevant preclinical data through advanced genetic engineering, diverse induced disease models, and comprehensive behavioral phenotyping platforms.

Schizophrenia, a complex neuropsychiatric disorder, demands sophisticated preclinical models for understanding its etiology and developing effective treatments. Schizophrenia mouse models development services leverage genetic, pharmacological, and neurodevelopmental approaches to recapitulate key aspects of the human condition in a tractable system. These models are crucial for deciphering disease mechanisms and identifying novel therapeutic targets, driving forward the search for breakthrough therapies amidst the challenges of mental illness modeling. Mental illness modeling in laboratory animals is inherently challenging due to the absence of higher mental functions in rodents, making it difficult to assess their mental state. However, by inducing damage or changes in specific brain regions, these models can approximate the lesions seen in human patients.

Workflow Advantages Available Models Related Services

How Our Schizophrenia Mouse Models Development Services Can Assist Your Project

At Creative Biolabs, we provide tailored solutions for precise disease modeling, robust target validation, and comprehensive drug efficacy testing. Our services are designed to integrate seamlessly with your research pipeline, offering clarity and efficiency from concept to conclusion.

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Workflow

Embarking on a new research project requires clear steps and a collaborative approach. Our workflow is meticulously structured to ensure transparency and success, and is designed to be easily visualized as a flowchart.

  • Required Starting Materials:

To initiate your Schizophrenia Mouse Models Development project, clients typically provide:

  1. Genetic Target: Specific gene ID, desired mutation (e.g., point mutation, knockout), or pathway of interest.
  2. Compound Information: Mechanism of action, preliminary in vitro data, or therapeutic hypothesis for drug testing.
  3. Behavioral Endpoints: Specific symptom clusters or behavioral deficits of interest (e.g., cognitive impairment, social interaction deficits, positive symptoms).

Fig.1 Workflow of our Schizophrenia Mouse Models Development Services. (Creative Biolabs Original)

  • Final Deliverables:

Upon project completion, you will receive:

  1. Comprehensive Study Report: A detailed document encompassing all experimental data, statistical analyses, and expert interpretation.
  2. Molecular & Histopathological Analyses: Specific data on gene expression, protein levels, neurotransmitter changes, and brain morphology as requested.
  3. Customized Model Colony: For genetic models, a fully characterized animal colony for your continued internal research.

Why Choose Us?

Choosing CBL for your schizophrenia mouse models development services means partnering with a leader in preclinical research. Our distinct advantages and unwavering commitment to scientific excellence set us apart, ensuring your projects yield impactful and translatable results.

  • 20+ Years of Expertise: Benefit from our two decades of specialized knowledge in neuropsychiatric disorders and preclinical model development, guiding your project with unparalleled scientific insight.
  • Comprehensive Model Portfolio: Gain access to a diverse array of models, including state-of-the-art genetic models (CRISPR/Cas9), versatile pharmacological models (NMDA antagonists, AMPH), and robust neurodevelopmental models (NVHL, MIA, MAM).
  • Advanced Phenotyping Capabilities: Leverage our cutting-edge behavioral facilities, including automated systems like IntelliCage, for high-throughput, ecologically valid data collection that minimizes human interference and enhances reproducibility.
  • Translational Focus: We meticulously design models and assays with strong face, construct, and predictive validity, ensuring that your research findings are highly relevant and translatable to the human condition.
  • Ethical Commitment: Our unwavering adherence to the "Four Rs" (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement, and Responsibility) and robust animal welfare protocols guarantees that all studies are conducted to the highest ethical standards.
  • Customization and Flexibility: We provide bespoke study designs and adaptable protocols to precisely meet your unique research objectives and project timelines.

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Schizophrenia Mouse Models

The development of effective treatments for schizophrenia hinges on the availability of robust animal models that accurately reflect the complex pathology of the human condition. At CBL, we offer a diverse portfolio of mouse models, meticulously designed and validated to support every stage of your drug discovery and development pipeline. We categorize our models into three primary types: genetic, pharmacological, and neurodevelopmental, each offering unique insights into the disease's multifaceted nature.

  • Precision Genetic Models: Illuminating Genomic Drivers

Recent advancements in human genetics have pinpointed numerous genes implicated in schizophrenia. Our genetic mouse models allow for precise investigation into these genomic drivers, providing invaluable tools for studying specific protein functions and their roles in disease development. While complex and expensive to generate, these models offer deep insights into specific genetic contributions.

Models Description
DISC1 (Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1) Model Mutations in DISC1 are known to affect cerebral cortex development, regulating crucial neuronal processes like morphogenesis, maturation, migration, and synaptic integration. CBL's Disc1 knockdown or dominant-negative models exhibit specific recognition memory deficits, abnormal prepulse inhibition (PPI), and social and anxiety-like behaviors.
22q11.2 Deletion Model The 22q11.2 microdeletion is considered the strongest genetic predictor of schizophrenia. Our mouse models carrying this deletion (Df(16)A+/- mice) recapitulate a broad range of deficits, including synaptic dysfunction, altered electrophysiological properties, and disruptions in dopaminergic (DAergic) and GABAergic systems.
Dysbindin-1 Model Genetic changes in the DTNBP1 gene, which encodes dysbindin-1 protein, are a recognized risk factor for schizophrenia. CBL's Dysbindin-1-deficient mice (sandy mice) present with impaired working and spatial memory, deficits in fear conditioning processes, abnormal social behavior, and disrupted locomotor activity.
Neuregulin 1 (NRG1) Model Variants in the NRG1 gene and its receptor ErbB4 are implicated in schizophrenia pathogenesis. CBL's heterozygous Nrg1 mutant mice exhibit hyperactivity, a reduction in functional NMDA receptors, and decreased presynaptic excitatory terminals on PV+ cortical neurons, leading to altered inhibitory/excitatory homeostasis.
  • Pharmacological and Developmental Models: Mimicking Disease Pathways

Beyond genetic manipulation, our services include the development of models that mimic key pathophysiological or developmental aspects of schizophrenia. These induced models are designed to exhibit relevant schizophrenia phenotypes shortly after treatment, allowing for rapid study processing and preliminary insights. While simpler and less time-consuming to generate, they primarily resemble acute psychosis rather than the chronic nature of the illness, which can limit their ability to model long-term disease progression.

Models Description
Dopaminergic Hyperfunction Model (Amphetamine) The repeated administration of escalating, intermittent doses of amphetamine induces a sensitized state in rodents that resembles the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. This model is characterized by hyperlocomotion, spatial working memory impairments, and deficits in prepulse inhibition (PPI) and latent inhibition.
Dopaminergic Hypofunction Model (6-OHDA) By inducing frontal hypodopaminergic effects through the injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), this model aims to recapitulate negative symptoms such as poor motivation, a key feature in schizophrenia. This manipulation can lead to spatial memory impairment and decreased social behavior.
Serotonergic Model (DOI) 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine (DOI), a 5-HT2A/2C agonist, is used to induce head-twitch response (HTR), a behavioral readout mimicking positive symptoms (specifically hallucinations), and it disrupts PPI. DOI administration leads to increased glutamate, dopamine, and acetylcholine release in the prefrontal cortex.
Phencyclidine (PCP)-Induced Schizophrenia PCP, a noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist, is known to induce psychosis-like states, negative symptoms, and cognitive deficits in humans. In animal models, acute or subchronic PCP administration causes impairments in memory and learning, sociability, locomotor activity, and PPI.
Ketamine-Induced Schizophrenia Another NMDA receptor antagonist, ketamine, is widely used to model positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. It reliably produces memory impairments, anxiety-like behaviors, altered social behavior, hyperlocomotion, and impaired sensorimotor gating.
MK-801-Induced Schizophrenia (Dizocilpine) As a potent noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist, MK-801 (dizocilpine) is highly relevant for inducing a broad range of schizophrenia-related behavioral and neurochemical changes. Its effects include working memory perturbations, hyperlocomotion, PPI deficits, lowered sociability, and fear conditioning perturbations.
  • Neurodevelopmental Models: Unraveling Developmental Origins

Neurodevelopmental models are founded on the hypothesis that early-life abnormalities in the development and maturation of the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus lead to long-term brain changes that manifest post-pubertally. These models are particularly advantageous for mimicking the progressive course of the illness, offering insights into disease onset and progression.

Models Description
Neonatal Ventral Hippocampal Lesion (NVHL) Model This model involves the surgical infusion of excitotoxin (ibotenic acid) into the hippocampus during the first postnatal week, which is analogous to the third trimester of human development. The behavioral and molecular changes induced appear during the post-pubertal period, with no changes observed prepubertally. NVHL rats consistently show impaired sensorimotor gating, social interactions, attention, working memory, spatial memory, hyperlocomotion, and hypersensitivity to psychostimulants. Neural atrophy, gliosis, reduced dendritic length and spine density, decreased BDNF levels, enhanced nitric oxide (NO) accumulation, and disturbed cytokine levels are all observed in these models.
Maternal Immune Activation (MIA) Model The MIA model, proposed as another neurodevelopmental paradigm, involves administering polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) during gestation to activate the maternal immune system. The offspring exhibit a broad spectrum of phenotypes that mimic schizophrenia. MIA leads to disturbed DA, 5-HT, and GLU systems, impaired GABAergic transmission (altered receptor expression, reduced GAD67), and functional impairments or loss of PV+ interneurons. Behavioral deficits consistently include increased locomotor activity, PPI deficits, altered anxiety, social behavior, and impairments in working memory and cognitive flexibility, many of which can be alleviated by antipsychotics.
Methylazoxymethanol Acetate (MAM) Model The MAM model is a popular neurodevelopmental model based on the prenatal administration of methylazoxymethanol acetate (MAM) on embryonic day 17, which disrupts embryonic brain development. Adult rodents in this model consistently show deficits paralleling those in schizophrenic patients, including augmented DA transmission, reduced cortical thickness, increased neuronal density, decreased PV expression, and altered H3 histone methylation in the mPFC and hippocampus. Behavioral disturbances encompass cognitive dysfunction, reduced social interaction, sensorimotor gating deficits, perseverative responding, and abnormal stress responses. Interestingly, environmental enrichment has been shown to reverse some of these behavioral changes.

Related Services

CBL offers a comprehensive suite of services that complement our schizophrenia mouse models development services, enabling a holistic approach to your research and drug discovery efforts. Explore our related offerings to further accelerate your scientific endeavors:

Ready to advance your schizophrenia research? Our dedicated team of experts is eager to discuss your specific project requirements and provide customized solutions.

Contact Our Team for More Information and to Discuss Your Project.

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