Lack of FKBP51 Shapes Brain Structure and Connectivity in Male Mice

Background Stress exposure as well as psychiatric disorders are often associated with abnormalities in brain structure or connectivity. The co-chaperone FK506-binding protein 51 (FKBP51) is a regulator of the stress system and is associated with a risk to develop stress-related mental illnesses. Purpose To assess the effect of a general FKBP51 knockout on brain structure and connectivity in male mice. Study Type Animal study. Animal Model Two cohorts of FKBP51 knockout (51KO) and wildtype (WT) mice. The first cohort was comprised of n = 18 WT and n = 17 51KOs; second cohort n = 10 WT and n = 9 51KOs. Field Strength/Sequence 9.4T/3D gradient echo (VBM), DTI-EPI (DTI). Assessment Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). For VBM, all procedures were executed in SPM12. DTI: FMRIB Software Library (FSL) Tract Based Statistics (TBSS) were integrated within DTI-TK, allowing the creation of a mean FA skeleton. A voxelwise statistical analysis was applied between WT and 51KO mice. Statistical Test Volumetric differences were collected at a threshold of P < 0.005, and only clusters surviving a familywise error correction on the cluster level (pFWE, cluster