Fig 1.
Binding (A) and blocking (B) titer of rabbit polyclonal antibody to recombinant rat folate receptor alpha.
Fig 2.
Results of the open field test.
Summary data of the various parameters evaluated in the open field test for rats exposed to FRα antibody during GD 8 and PND 10–12 (GST+PRW group). Antibody exposed rats covered less distance and spent less time in the central area, had fewer rearings and significantly increased number of self-grooming. (Mean + SEM; *P<0,05 compared to SC group).
Fig 3.
Tracking the movement of the rat in the place avoidance arena.
Tracings of the rat’s movement in the place avoidance arena for a SC rat (A), a GST+PRW rat able to learn the passive place avoidance task but fails the active place avoidance task (B) and a GST+PRW rat unable to learn both passive and active place avoidance tasks (C). The dots in the triangle represent number of shocks received during that trial.
Fig 4.
Place avoidance parameters in SC and GST-PRW rats.
Passive and active place avoidance parameters in different trials for normal rabbit IgG exposed rats (-●-; SC group; n = 8) and GST-PRW rats exposed to FRα Ab (-○-; GST-PRW group; n = 6). Inability of the GST-PRW rats to learn the passive place avoidance (Panels A and B) and the active place avoidance (Panels C and D) is evident from the lack of a decrease in number of entrances and the shocks received along with lack of a decrease in time to first entry in subsequent trials. Median values for each parameter are reported. *Different from the SC group (P < 0.05). †The first trial (in the control group) was different from the rest of the trials (P < 0.05). Bonferroni correction was applied to the P values for multiple comparisons.
Fig 5.
Place avoidance in GST, PRW and SC rats.
Parameters for the place avoidance tasks for GST (-○-, n = 4) and SC (-●-, n = 8) rats (Panels A and B) or PRW (-○-, n = 8) and SC (-●-, n = 4) rats (Panels C and D). Median values for each parameter are reported. *Different from the control group (P < 0.05); †different from the first trial (P < 0.05). Note: in Panel C, † indicates difference compared to the first trial in the exposed group (P < 0.05). Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons was applied to the P values.
Fig 6.
Summary data of the place avoidance tasks for SC, GST+PRW, GST and PRW rats.
While 30% of the GST+PRW rats learned the passive place avoidance task (PA), none were able to learn the active place avoidance task (AA). As per protocol, since all the GST+PRW rats failed the active place avoidance task, they were not tested for the conflict place avoidance task (CA). Similar but less severe effects were seen in GST only and PRW only rats.