Deletion of TRIM32 protects mice from anxiety- and depression-like behaviors under mild stress

Chronic stress causes a variety of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression, but its mechanism is not well understood. Tripartite motif-containing protein 32 (TRIM32) was strongly associated with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder based on a study of copy number variation, and deletion of TRIM32 increased neural proliferation and reduced apoptosis. Here, we propose that TRIM32 is involved in chronic stress-induced affective behaviors. Using a chronic unpredictable mild stress mouse depression model, we studied expression of TRIM32 in brain tissue samples and observed behavioral changes in Trim32 knockout mice. The results showed that TRIM32 protein but not its mRNA was significantly reduced in hippocampus in a time-dependent manner within 8 weeks of chronic stress. These stress-induced affective behaviors and reduction of TRIM32 protein expression were significantly reversed by antidepressant fluoxetine treatment. In addition, Trim32 knockout mice showed reduced anxiety and depressive behaviors and hyperactivities compared with Trim32 wild-type mice under normal and mild stress conditions. We conclude that TRIM32 plays important roles in regulation of hyperactivities and positively regulates the development of anxiety and depression disorders induced by chronic stress.