Altered cytokine profile, pain sensitivity, and stress responsivity in mice with co-disruption of the developmental genes Neuregulin-1 × DISC1

•Anxiety and stress responsivity were examined in mutant mice with simultaneous disruption of schizophrenia-associated genes NRG1 and DISC1.•Mice with partial knockout of NRG1 displayed reduced anxiety-related behaviour and stress-reactivity.•Disruption of DISC1 but not of NRG1, in the absence of epistasis, was associated with increased basal serum pro-inflammatory cytokine levels.•Simultaneous NRG1-DISC1 mutation diminishes the DISC1-specific increases in the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL6 and TNF-α.