BACHD rats overexpress full-length human mutant HTT (mHTT) with 97 alternating CAA/CAG repeats on a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC).
The most important characteristics of BACHD rats are:
- mHTT aggregates
- Motor deficits
- Reversal learning deficits
- Reduced anxiety
- Striatal alterations
Evaluation of BACHD rats’ motor skills by RotaRod test reveals first deficits as early as 2 months of age (Figure 1A). BACHD rats at the age of 7 months present a significantly longer latency to find the platform in the reversal trial on day 9 of Morris water maze testing (Figure 1B). Animals present no learning deficits during the first 8 days of training (data not shown).
Figure 1: RotaRod and Morris water maze test. A: RotaRod test was performed from month 1 to 5. Latency to fall off the rod in seconds. B: Latency to find the hidden platform in the reversal trial on day 9 of testing. Two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc test. Mean ± SEM. n = 15 per group. **p<0.01 ***p<0.001.
QPS Neuropharmacology offers a custom-tailored study design for BACHD rats, and we are flexible to accommodate your special interests. We are also happy to advise you and propose study designs. BACHD rats show a relevant HD phenotype starting at 2 months of age. This grants a remarkable fast processing time of your HD study. Furthermore, non-transgenic littermates are available as control animals needed for proper study design.
QPS Neuropharmacology is ready to provide samples (brain tissue, CSF etc.) from these animals for analyses in your laboratory.
We are happy to evaluate the efficacy of your compound in the BACHD rat model! The most common readouts are:
Looking for something else? Please contact us!