Neurotrophin-3 is expressed in the posterior lobe of mouse cerebellum, but does not affect the cerebellar development.
We replaced the neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) gene with Escherichia coli-derived lacZ via homologous recombination in embryonic stem (ES) cells and generated the mutant mice. Here we show the in vivo expression of NT-3 in the cerebellum during the postnatal period. A high level of lacZ expression was found in the granular layer of posterior lobe (lobules VII to X) in the postnatal NT-3(+/-) cerebellum. The expression in these regions was reduced with age. Although the Purkinje cells are considered to be a target of NT-3 and the NT-3(-/-) mice displayed severe moving disorders like ataxia, no histological abnormality was observed in their cerebellum. These findings suggest that the NT-3 expressed in the cerebellum gives some trophic effects primarily to the posterior lobe, however, the deficiency does not affect its development.
Tojo
H
H
Discovery Research Laboratories II, Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd., Osaka, Japan.
Takami
K
K
Kaisho
Y
Y
Nakata
M
M
Abe
T
T
Shiho
O
O
Igarashi
K
K
D000818:Animals; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000502:physiology*; D007763:Lac Operon; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D020933:Neurotrophin 3
D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D020933:Neurotrophin 3