Strain b6.129p2 c mecp2tm1 1bird

The knockout mouse model for RTT, strain B6.129P2(C)-Mecp2tm1-1Bird (Guy et al., 2001 (link); maintained on a C57BL/6J background) was purchased from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME, USA). Hemizygous mutant Mecp2^−/y males were generated by crossing heterozygous Mecp2^+/− females with C57BL/6J wild-type males. The genotyping was performed in accordance with The Jackson Laboratory genotyping protocols¹.
The knockout mouse model for the 5-ht_5b receptor, strain 129SvEvBrd (maintained on a 29/SvEv-C57BL/6 background) was obtained from Taconic Europe A/S (Tornbjergvej 40, Ejby, 4623 Lille Skensved, Denmark). Htr5b knockout mice were backcrossed into the C57BL/6 background for at least eight generations. Mecp2^−/y;Htr5b^−/−-double-knockout mice were then generated by crossbreeding female Mecp2^+/−;Htr5b^+/− mice with male Mecp2^+/y;Htr5b^−/− mice.

The animals were housed, cared for and euthanized according to the recommendations of the European Commission (No. L358, ISSN 0378–6978). Experimental protocols were approved by the Committee for Animal Research, Gottingen University. The mouse model for Rett syndrome; strain B6.129P2(C)—Mecp2 tm1-1Bird [2 (link)] obtained from the Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME, USA) and maintained on a C57BL/6J background was used for experiments. Hemizygous mutant Mecp2^−/y males (RTT) were generated by crossing heterozygous Mecp2^+/− females with C57BL/6JWT males and genotyped to distinguish between the wild-type (WT) and RTT mice. Organotypic slices are prepared from littermate WT and Mecp2^−/y mice.