| First Author | Kiernan BW | Year | 1999 |
| Journal | Eur J Neurosci | Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 9 | Pages | 3082-92 |
| PubMed ID | 10510172 | Mgi Jnum | J:59755 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1352125 | Doi | 10.1046/j.1460-9568.1999.00729.x |
| Citation | Kiernan BW, et al. (1999) Myelination and behaviour of tenascin-C null transgenic mice. Eur J Neurosci 11(9):3082-92 |
| abstractText | The extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin-C is widely expressed during development and repair, making it surprising that few abnormalities have been found in transgenic mice lacking this molecule. We have therefore re-examined the transgenic mice described by Saga et al. [Saga, Y., Yagi, T., Ikawa, Y., Sakakura, T. & Aizawa, S. (1992) Genes Dev., 6 1821-1831] in which tenascin-C was knocked-out by homologous recombination, focusing on two aspects of the nervous system likely to reveal any abnormalities that might follow the loss of tenascin-C. First, we have determined the pattern of myelin and distribution of oligodendrocyte precursor cells in those areas, such as the optic nerve and retina where local concentrations of tenascin-C have been proposed to act as barriers to oligodendrocyte precursor migration and so prevent inappropriate myelination. Secondly, we have examined the behaviour of the mice in a number of well-characterized tests, e.g. beam-walking, passive avoidance and the Morris water maze. We find no abnormalities of myelination or oligodendrocyte precursor distribution in adult mice, showing that local concentrations of tenascin-C are not the sole mechanism responsible for the pattern of myelination in these regions of CNS. However, we do find a number of behavioural abnormalities in these mice and show that hyperlocomotion and deficits in coordination during beam walking can be ascribed to tenascin-C deficiency. The effects on coordination are, however, not seen on a 129 genetic background. Taken together, these results significantly extend the phenotype associated with tenascin-C deficiency but argue against a role in myelination. |
