NSU-MD Faculty Articles
"Skittish" Abca2 knockout mice display tremor, hyperactivity, and abnormal myelin ultrastructure in the central nervous system.
Publication Title
Molecular and cellular biology
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
ISSN
0270-7306
Publication Date
1-1-2007
Keywords
ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters, Animals, Behavior, Animal, Central Nervous System, Female, Lysosomes, Macrophages, Male, Mice, Mice, Knockout, Myelin Sheath, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Phenotype, Psychomotor Agitation, Tremor
Abstract
The ATP-binding cassette transporter 2 (ABCA2) is an endolysosomal protein most highly expressed in the central and peripheral nervous system tissues and macrophages. Previous studies indicated its role in cholesterol/steroid (estramustine, estradiol, and progesterone) trafficking/sequestration, oxidative stress response, and Alzheimer's disease. Developmental studies have shown its expression during macrophage and oligodendrocyte differentiation, processes requiring membrane growth. To determine the in vivo function(s) of this transporter, we generated a knockout mouse from a gene-targeted disruption of the murine ABCA2 gene. Knockout males and females are viable and fertile. However, a non-Mendelian inheritance pattern was shown among male progeny of heterozygous crosses. Compared to wild-type and heterozygous littermates, knockout mice displayed a tremor without ataxia, hyperactivity, and reduced body weight; the latter two phenotypes were more marked in females than in males. This sexual disparity suggests a role for ABCA2 in hormone-dependent neurological and/or developmental pathways. Myelin sheath thickness in the spinal cords of knockout mice was greatly increased compared to that in wild-type mice, while a significant reduction in myelin membrane periodicity (compaction) was observed in both spinal cords and cerebra of knockout mice. Loss of ABCA2 function in vivo resulted in abnormal myelin compaction in spinal cord and cerebrum, an ultrastructural defect that we propose to be the cause of the phenotypic tremor.
DOI
10.1128/MCB.01824-06
Volume
27
Issue
1
First Page
44
Last Page
53
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
NSUWorks Citation
Mack, Jody T; Beljanski, Vladimir; Soulika, Athena M; Townsend, Danyelle M; Brown, Carol B; Davis, Warren; and Tew, Kenneth D, ""Skittish" Abca2 knockout mice display tremor, hyperactivity, and abnormal myelin ultrastructure in the central nervous system." (2007). NSU-MD Faculty Articles. 100.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_md_facarticles/100
