Provided is a transgenic knockout mouse whose genome includes a disruption in its endogenous SAPAP3 gene, wherein the disruption results in the mouse exhibiting increased levels of anxiety as compared to a wild type mouse. Also provided are cells derived from the disclosed transgenic knockout mouse. Also provided are methods of identifying a therapeutic agent for the treatment of an individual diagnosed with anxiety, methods for diagnosing an individual with a clinical disorder associated with reduced expression of a SAPAP3 gene product, and methods for treating an individual with a clinical anxiety disorder associated with reduced expression of a SAPAP3 gene product.
SAPAP3 knockout mouse and clinical modeling associated with the SAPAP3 gene