title: Brain dopamine and amino acid concentrations in Lurcher mutant mice.
abstract: Lurcher mutant mice are characterized by massive degeneration of the cerebellum, including Purkinje cells and granule cells, as well as for the loss of neurons from the inferior olive. Concentrations of dopamine and two of its metabolites and of several amino acid neurotransmitters were determined in the cerebellum and in other brain regions of these mutants. By comparison to wild-type mice of the same background strain, glutamate and taurine concentrations were reduced in the Lurcher cerebellum. No decrease was found for aspartate, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glycine, as well as dopamine and its metabolites. Moreover, no neurochemical alterations occurred in the brain stem, thalamus, or neostriatum of Lurcher mutants. A selective reduction of glutamate concentration was found in the hippocampus, while all amino acids measured were decreased in the entorhinal-piriform areas. These results indicate region-selective reductions of neurotransmitter concentrations in a mouse mutant with a defined cerebellar cortical pathology.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche en Sciences Neurologiques, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada. readert@ere.umontreal.ca
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Reader
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Strazielle
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Botez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lalonde
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000737:chemistry; D004298:Dopamine / Q000032:analysis*; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008818:Mice, Neurologic Mutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000032:analysis*; D009928:Organ Specificity; D013045:Species Specificity; D013654:Taurine / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D013654:Taurine; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D004298:Dopamine