Gait analysis detects early changes in transgenic SOD1(G93A) mice.
The effective treatment or cure of motoneuron disease will require understanding the disease processes that precede irreversible cell loss. To study these early stages, and to evaluate potential treatments in relevant animal models, requires a sensitive functional assay. To this end, we sought to determine whether the gait pattern of SOD1 transgenic mice changed prior to overt symptoms. Using a simplified video-based approach we compared the treadmill gait of C57BL/6J and B6.SOD1 transgenic mice at 8 and 10 weeks of age. B6.SOD1 mice had significantly longer stride and stance times than controls by 8 weeks. Consistent with disease progression, hindpaw measures of B6.SOD1 mice showed larger changes than front paws. Differences between control and B6.SOD1 mice increased at 10 weeks, but only because repeat testing caused habituation in control mice to a greater extent than in B6.SOD1 mice. Together the results demonstrate that simplified gait analysis is sensitive to early processes of motor system disease in mice.
Wooley
Christine M
CM
The Jackson Laboratory, 600 Main Street, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609, USA.
Sher
Roger B
RB
Kale
Ajit
A
Frankel
Wayne N
WN
Cox
Gregory A
GA
Seburn
Kevin L
KL
D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005684:Gait; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics*; D015996:Survival Rate; D014741:Video Recording
C109415:SOD1 G93A protein; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase