Human Molecular Genetics Advance Access originally published online on April 13, 2005
Human Molecular Genetics 2005 14(10):1379-1392; doi:10.1093/hmg/ddi147
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Loss of wild-type huntingtin influences motor dysfunction and survival in the YAC128 mouse model of Huntington disease
1Department of Medical Genetics, 2Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z3 and 3Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, British Columbia Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 4H4
* To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, 980 West 28th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 4H4. Tel: +1 604 875 3535; FaxL +1 604 875 3819; Email: mrh{at}cmmt.ubc.ca
Received March 1, 2005; Accepted April 4, 2005
Huntington disease (HD) is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disease caused by a toxic gain of function in the huntingtin (htt) protein. The contribution of wild-type htt function to the pathogenesis of HD is currently uncertain. To assess the role of wild-type htt in HD, we generated YAC128 mice that do not express wild-type htt (YAC128/) but express the same amount of mutant htt as normal YAC128 mice (YAC128+/+). YAC128/ mice perform worse than YAC128+/+ mice in the rotarod test of motor coordination (P=0.001) and are hypoactive compared with YAC128+/+ mice at 2 months (P=0.003). Striatal neuropathology was not clearly worse in YAC128/ mice compared with YAC128+/+ mice. There was no significant effect of decreased wild-type htt on striatal volume, neuronal counts or DARPP-32 expression but a modest worsening of striatal neuronal atrophy was evident (6%, P=0.03). The testis of YAC128+/+ mice showed atrophy and degeneration, which was markedly worsened in the absence of wild-type htt (P=0.001). YAC128+/+ mice also showed a male specific deficit in survival compared with WT mice which was exacerbated by the loss of wild-type htt (12-month-male survival, P<0.001). Overall, we demonstrate that the loss of wild-type htt influences motor dysfunction, hyperkinesia, testicular degeneration and impaired lifespan in YAC128 mice. The mild effect of wild-type htt on striatal phenotypes in YAC128 mice suggests that the characteristic striatal neuropathology in HD is caused primarily by the toxicity of mutant htt and that replacement of wild-type htt will not be an adequate treatment for HD.
![]()
CiteULike
Connotea
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
S. Zhang, M. B. Feany, S. Saraswati, J. T. Littleton, and N. Perrimon Inactivation of Drosophila Huntingtin affects long-term adult functioning and the pathogenesis of a Huntington's disease model Dis. Model. Mech., May 1, 2009; 2(5-6): 247 - 266. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
B. Mugat, M.-L. Parmentier, N. Bonneaud, H. Y. E. Chan, and F. Maschat Protective role of Engrailed in a Drosophila model of Huntington's disease Hum. Mol. Genet., November 15, 2008; 17(22): 3601 - 3616. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. L. Orr, S. Huang, M. A. Roberts, J. C. Reed, S. Li, and X.-J. Li Sex-dependent Effect of BAG1 in Ameliorating Motor Deficits of Huntington Disease Transgenic Mice J. Biol. Chem., June 6, 2008; 283(23): 16027 - 16036. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. L. Lumsden, T. L. Henshall, S. Dayan, M. T. Lardelli, and R. I. Richards Huntingtin-deficient zebrafish exhibit defects in iron utilization and development Hum. Mol. Genet., August 15, 2007; 16(16): 1905 - 1920. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. Zuccato, N. Belyaev, P. Conforti, L. Ooi, M. Tartari, E. Papadimou, M. MacDonald, E. Fossale, S. Zeitlin, N. Buckley, et al. Widespread Disruption of Repressor Element-1 Silencing Transcription Factor/Neuron-Restrictive Silencer Factor Occupancy at Its Target Genes in Huntington's Disease J. Neurosci., June 27, 2007; 27(26): 6972 - 6983. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
P. S. Thomas Jr, G. S. Fraley, V. Damien, L. B. Woodke, F. Zapata, B. L. Sopher, S. R. Plymate, and A. R. La Spada Loss of endogenous androgen receptor protein accelerates motor neuron degeneration and accentuates androgen insensitivity in a mouse model of X-linked spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy Hum. Mol. Genet., July 15, 2006; 15(14): 2225 - 2238. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
W. Li, L. C. Serpell, W. J. Carter, D. C. Rubinsztein, and J. A. Huntington Expression and Characterization of Full-length Human Huntingtin, an Elongated HEAT Repeat Protein J. Biol. Chem., June 9, 2006; 281(23): 15916 - 15922. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. M. Van Raamsdonk, W. T. Gibson, J. Pearson, Z. Murphy, G. Lu, B. R. Leavitt, and M. R. Hayden Body weight is modulated by levels of full-length Huntingtin Hum. Mol. Genet., May 1, 2006; 15(9): 1513 - 1523. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. M. Van Raamsdonk, Z. Murphy, E. J. Slow, B. R. Leavitt, and M. R. Hayden Selective degeneration and nuclear localization of mutant huntingtin in the YAC128 mouse model of Huntington disease Hum. Mol. Genet., December 15, 2005; 14(24): 3823 - 3835. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||



