1. ¹Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
2. ²Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine—Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, USA
3. ³Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University and Louis Stokes Cleveland DVA Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
4. ⁴Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA
5. ⁵Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA

Correspondence: Dr A Gallitano-Mendel, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine—Phoenix, 550 East Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ 85004-2230, USA. Tel: +1 602 827 111; Fax: +1 602 827 2144; E-mail: amelia@email.arizona.edu; Dr J Milbrandt, Department of Pathology, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8118, St Louis, MO 63110, USA. Tel: +1 314 362 4650; Fax: +1 314 362 8756; E-mail: jmilbrandt@wustl.edu

Received 16 February 2007; Revised 11 May 2007; Accepted 6 June 2007; Published online 18 July 2007.

Abstract

Immediate early genes (IEGs) of the early growth response gene (Egr) family are activated in the brain in response to stress, social stimuli, and administration of psycho-active medications. However, little is known about the role of these genes in the biological or behavioral response to these stimuli. Here we show that mice lacking the IEG transcription factor Egr3 (Egr3-/- mice) display increased aggression, and a decreased latency to attack, in response to the stressful social stimulus of a foreign intruder. Together with our findings of persistent and intrusive olfactory-mediated social investigation of conspecifics, these results suggest increased impulsivity in Egr3-/- mice. We also show that the aggression of Egr3-/- mice is significantly inhibited with chronic administration of the antipsychotic medication clozapine. Despite their sensitivity to this therapeutic effect of clozapine, Egr3-/- mice display a marked resistance to the sedating effects of acute clozapine compared with WT littermate controls. This indicates that the therapeutic, anti-aggressive action of clozapine is separable from its sedating activity, and that the biological abnormality resulting from loss of Egr3 distinguishes these different mechanisms. Thus Egr3-/- mice may provide an important tool for elucidating the mechanism of action of clozapine, as well as for understanding the biology underlying aggressive behavior. Notably, schizophrenia patients display a similar decreased susceptibility to the side effects of antipsychotic medications compared to non-psychiatric controls, despite the medications producing a therapeutic response. This suggests the possibility that Egr3-/- mice may provide insight into the neurobiological abnormalities underlying schizophrenia.