Estrogen Deficient Male Mice Develop Compulsive Behavior

Background: Aromatase converts androgen to estrogen. Thus, the aromatase knockout (ArKO) mouse is estrogen deficient. We investigated the compulsive behaviors of these animals and the protein levels of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) in frontal cortex, hypothalamus and liver. Methods: Grooming was analyzed during the 20-min period immediately following a water-mist spray. Running wheel activity over two consecutive nights and barbering were analyzed. COMT protein levels were measured by Western analysis. Results: Six-month old male but not female ArKO mice develop compulsive behaviors such as excessive barbering, grooming and wheel-running. Excessive activities were reversed by 3 weeks of 17β-estradiol replacement. Interestingly, the presentation of compulsive behaviors is accompanied by concomitant decreases (p < .05) in hypothalamic COMT protein levels in male ArKO mice. These values returned to normal upon 17β-estradiol treatment. In contrast, hepatic and frontal cortex COMT levels were not affected by the estrogen status, indicating region- and tissue-specific regulation of COMT levels by estrogen. No differences in COMT levels were detectable between female animals of both genotypes. Conclusions: This study describes the novel observation of a possible link between estrogen, COMT and development of compulsive behaviors in male animals which may have therapeutic implications in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients.