| First Author | Kovács AD | Year | 2006 |
| Journal | Neurobiol Dis | Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 575-85 |
| PubMed ID | 16483786 | Mgi Jnum | J:111283 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3653554 | Doi | 10.1016/j.nbd.2005.12.018 |
| Citation | Kovacs AD, et al. (2006) Selectively increased sensitivity of cerebellar granule cells to AMPA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity in a mouse model of Batten disease. Neurobiol Dis 22(3):575-85 |
| abstractText | Batten disease, a lysosomal storage disorder, is caused by mutations in the CLN3 gene. The Cln3-knockout (Cln3-/-) mouse model of the disease exhibits many characteristic pathological features of the human disorder. Here, we show that Cln3-/- mice, similarly to Batten disease patients, have a deficit in cerebellar motor coordination. To explore the possible cellular cause of this functional impairment, we compared the vulnerability of wild type (WT) and Cln3-/- cerebellar granule cell cultures to different toxic insults. We have found that cultured Cln3-/- cerebellar granule cells are selectively more vulnerable to AMPA-type glutamate receptor-mediated toxicity than their WT counterparts. This selective sensitivity was also observed in organotypic cerebellar slice cultures. Our results suggest that lack of the CLN3 protein has a significant influence on the function of AMPA receptors in cerebellar granule neurons, and that AMPA receptor dysregulation may be a major contributor to the cerebellar dysfunction in Batten disease. |
