Uncovering the genetic mechanisms regulating the expression of the social neuropeptide, parathyroid hormone 2 (Pth2)

Abstract

Social interactions have a profound impact on our emotions and brain chemistry. However, the mechanisms that modulate our brain chemistry in response to social interactions are not well understood. The neuropeptide parathyroid hormone 2 (Pth2) promotes social interactions and its expression increases under social conditions in both rodents and zebrafish. To explore the regulatory mechanisms behind pth2 expression, I created transgenic reporters in zebrafish to monitor pth2 expression in vivo. My first experiment tests the hypothesis that the pth2 5′ regulatory element can drive fluorescent protein expression with dynamics similar to endogenous pth2. Additionally, I explored the role of putative 3’ regulatory elements in the pth2 gene to determine if they modulated expression of the transgenes. I also used a pth2 mutant line of fish to test whether Pth2 itself modulates its own expression. This research aims to enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate Pth2 to better understand how social interactions modulate brain chemistry.