Asip (Agouti-signaling protein) aggression gene regulate auditory processing genes in mice

Covid-19 strategy of lockdown has affected the lives of millions. The strict actions to enclose the epidemic have exposed many households to inner tensions. Domestic violence has been reported to increase during the lockdown. However, the reasons for this phenomenon have not been thoroughly investigated. Melanocortin GPCRs family contribution to aggression is well documented. ASIP (nonagouti) gene plays a vital role in regulating the melanocortin GPCRs family function, and it is responsible for regulating aggression in mice. We conducted a selection analysis of ASIP. We found that it negatively purified from Shark to humans. In order to better asses the effect of this gene in mammals, we performed RNA-seq analysis of a knockout of an ASIP crisper-cas mouse model. We found that ASIP KO in mice upregulates several genes controlling auditory function, including Phox2b, Mpk13, Fat2, Neurod2, Slc18a3, Gon4l Gbx2, Slc6a3(Dat1) Aldh1a7 Tyrp1 and Lbx1. Interestingly, we found that Slc6a5, and Lamp5 as well as IL33, which are associated with startle disease, are also upregulated in response to knocking out ASIP. These findings are indicative of a direct autoimmune effect between aggression-associated genes and startle disease. Furthermore, in order to validate the link between aggression and auditory inputs processing. We conducted psychological tests of persons who experienced lockdown. We found that aggression has risen by 16 % during the lockdown. Furthermore, 3% of the subjects interviewed reported a change in their hearing abilities. Our data shed light on the importance of the auditory input in aggression and open perceptions to interpret how hearing and aggression interact at the molecular neural circuit level.