Sex specific behavioural alterations in Mas-deficient mice.

Male mice lacking the Mas protooncogene have been shown to exhibit an increased anxiety in the Elevated Plus Maze Task and sustained long-term potentiation in the hippocampus without effect on spatial learning in the Morris Water Maze Task. Here, we report behavioural studies in female mice lacking the Mas protooncogene. As for the males, we analysed the learning and anxiety behaviour using both behavioural tasks. With the exception of a trend to a better performance in the Morris Water Maze no differences were found in both tests between control and Mas-deficient females. This implicates that the lack of Mas protein influences spatial learning and anxiety in a sex-specific manner.