Interestingly, male homozygous FoxO3a-deficient mice, in strong contrast to the brain FoxO1 knockout mice, had a significantly lower immobility in the FST when compared to both heterozygous FoxO3a-deficient and wild-type mice (Figure 5c). This antidepressant-like behavioral phenotype required complete deletion of FoxO3a since heterozygous FoxO3a-deficient mice did not display a significant decrease in immobility. Similarly to male mice, a significantly lower immobility was also observed in female homozygous FoxO3a-deficient mice when compared to wild-type controls.
