title: Regionalization defects in the weaver mouse cerebellum.
abstract: The mammalian cerebellum consists of parasagittal bands and transverse zones that are laid down early in development. When the adult cerebellum is immunostained for the Purkinje cell-specific antigen zebrin II (i.e., aldolase C), compartmentation is reflected in alternating zebrin II+ (P+) and zebrin II- bands (P ). The zebrin II phenotype is Purkinje cell autonomous; thus, disruptions in the zebrin pattern may reflect early problems in pattern formation. Zebrin II expression has been examined in the weaver (wv) mouse cerebellum. Both zebrin II- and zebrin II Purkinje cells are present in the homozygous weaver (wv/wv) mouse, but they are not distributed normally. In the posterior vermis, although the zebrin II+ bands are wider and multilaminate, the standard compartmentation is present. However, a large zebrin II+ cell mass is absent from the central vermis, and analysis of the anterior lobe reveals several missing zebrin II- bands. The cytoarchitectonic defects in wv mice are not simply related to the Purkinje cell abnormalities. Instead, serial reconstruction reveals two transverse boundaries-one rostrally in lobule VI and the other caudally in lobule IX-that delineate cytoarchitectonic transverse zones important in cerebellar development. The abnormal zebrin expression pattern in wv/wv mice may be secondary to the deletion of a transverse zone. This is the first demonstration that Purkinje cell compartmentation can be altered by mutation; therefore, the wv mutation should prove valuable in understanding cerebellar regionalization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107-6799, USA.
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Eisenman
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hawkes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D008818:Mice, Neurologic Mutants; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C071871:zebrin II