Fig. 6. Summary showing the role of TOB in hippocampus-mediated stress response.

Tob deletion in mice induces hippocampal-dependent pathological behaviors of increased fear and depression-like behaviors. This can be explained by the altered functional connectivity between stress-related regions like hippocampus (HPC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Tob-deficient hippocampal neurons showed increased excitatory and decreased inhibitory neurotransmission. Stress-induced ERK phosphorylation and LCN-2 expression were lower in the hippocampus of Tob-KO mice.