| First Author | Alzghoul L | Year | 2012 |
| Journal | Neuropharmacology | Volume | 63 |
| Issue | 7 | Pages | 1208-17 |
| PubMed ID | 22971542 | Mgi Jnum | J:192761 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5466451 | Doi | 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.08.003 |
| Citation | Alzghoul L, et al. (2012) Altered cerebellar organization and function in monoamine oxidase A hypomorphic mice. Neuropharmacology 63(7):1208-17 |
| abstractText | Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) is the key enzyme for the degradation of brain serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA). We recently generated and characterized a novel line of MAO-A hypormorphic mice (MAO-A(Neo)), featuring elevated monoamine levels, social deficits and perseverative behaviors as well as morphological changes in the basolateral amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex. Here we showed that MAO-A(Neo) mice displayed deficits in motor control, manifested as subtle disturbances in gait, motor coordination, and balance. Furthermore, magnetic resonance imaging of the cerebellum revealed morphological changes and a moderate reduction in the cerebellar size of MAO-A(Neo) mice compared to wild type (WT) mice. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses using calbindin-D-28k (CB) expression of Purkinje cells revealed abnormal cerebellar foliation with vermal hypoplasia and decreased in Purkinje cell count and their dendritic density in MAO-A(Neo) mice compared to WT. Our current findings suggest that congenitally low MAO-A activity leads to abnormal development of the cerebellum. |
