| First Author | Armstrong PA | Year | 2015 |
| Journal | Exp Brain Res | Volume | 233 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 1825-35 |
| PubMed ID | 25827332 | Mgi Jnum | J:324540 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6859108 | Doi | 10.1007/s00221-015-4254-4 |
| Citation | Armstrong PA, et al. (2015) Preserved otolith organ function in caspase-3-deficient mice with impaired horizontal semicircular canal function. Exp Brain Res 233(6):1825-35 |
| abstractText | Genetically engineered mice are valuable models for elucidation of auditory and vestibular pathology. Our goal was to establish a comprehensive vestibular function testing system in mice using: (1) horizontal angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (hVOR) to evaluate semicircular canal function and (2) otolith-ocular reflex (OOR) to evaluate otolith organ function and to validate the system by characterizing mice with vestibular dysfunction. We used pseudo off-vertical axis rotation to induce an otolith-only stimulus using a custom-made centrifuge. For the OOR, horizontal slow-phase eye velocity and vertical eye position were evaluated as a function of acceleration. Using this system, we characterized hVOR and OOR in the caspase-3 (Casp3) mutant mice. Casp3 (-/-) mice had severely impaired hVOR gain, while Casp3 (+/-) mice had an intermediate response compared to WT mice. Evaluation of OOR revealed that at low-to-mid frequencies and stimulus intensity, Casp3 mutants and WT mice had similar responses. At higher frequencies and stimulus intensity, the Casp3 mutants displayed mildly reduced otolith organ-related responses. These findings suggest that the Casp3 gene is important for the proper function of the semicircular canals but less important for the otolith organ function. |
