low-cost-protocol-footprint-analysis-hanging-box-test-for-mice

Low-cost Protocol of Footprint Analysis and Hanging Box Test for Mice Applied the Chronic Restraint Stress

Gait disturbance is frequently observed in patients with movement disorders. In mouse models used for movement disorders, gait analysis is important ...

Jichi Medical University

Various senses and sensory nerve architectures of animals have evolved during adaptation to exploit diverse environments. In craniates, the trunk sensory system has evolved from simple mechanosensory neurons inside the spinal cord (intramedullary), called Rohon-Beard (RB) cells, to multimodal sensory neurons of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) outside the spinal cord (extramedullary). The fish and amphibian trunk sensory systems switch from RB cells to DRG during development, while amniotes rely exclusively on the DRG system. The mechanisms underlying the ontogenic switching and its link to phylogenetic transition remain unknown.

Six1 is a key regulator of the developmental and evolutionary architecture of sensory neurons in craniates.

Dystonia is a neurological disorder with involuntary and simultaneous contractions of agonist and antagonist muscles. Rapid-onset dystonia parkinsonism (RDP), one of the heredity forms of dystonia, is caused by mutations of Na,K-ATPase α3 subunit gene (ATP1A3). The abrupt onset of bulbar and limb symptoms of RDP are often triggered by physical and/or emotional stress. We reported previously that Atp1a3-deficient heterozygous mice showed higher locomotor activity and developed enhanced dystonia symptoms after kainate injection into the cerebellum, but not spontaneous movement disorder like RDP patients. Here we show that Atp1a3-deficient heterozygous mice exhibited shorter stride length at 4 weeks of age without stress and at later stages under chronic restraint stress loading. Shorter hanging time in the hanging box test was also observed after stress loading. Shorter stride length and hanging time may be relevant to certain phenotypes, such as gait abnormality, observed in RDP patients. Atp1a3 was widely expressed in the brain, including basal ganglia and cerebellum, and spinal cord of young mice, and the expression pattern was compatible with movement abnormalities under lack of one of alleles. Our results demonstrated the usefulness of Atp1a3-deficient heterozygous mice as an animal model of RDP and its potential use to explore the pathophysiology of movement abnormality in this disorder. 

Heterozygous mice deficient in Atp1a3 exhibit motor deficits by chronic restraint stress.

Omphalocele is a human congenital anomaly in ventral body wall closure and may be caused by impaired formation of the primary abdominal wall (PAW) and/or defects in abdominal muscle development. Here, we report that mice doubly deficient in homeobox genes  and  showed the same ventral body wall closure defects as those seen in human omphalocele. SIX4 and SIX5 were localized in surface ectodermal cells and somatic mesoderm-derived mesenchymal and coelomic epithelial cells (CECs) in the PAW.  fetuses exhibited a large omphalocele with protrusion of both the liver and intestine, or a small omphalocele with protrusion of the intestine, with complete penetrance. The umbilical ring of  embryos was shifted anteriorly and its lateral size was larger than that of normal embryos at the E11.5 stage, before the onset of myoblast migration into the PAW. The proliferation rates of surface ectodermal cells in the left and right PAW and somatic mesoderm-derived cells in the right PAW were lower in  embryos than those of wild-type embryos at E10.5. The transition from CECs of the PAW to rounded mesothelial progenitor cells was impaired and the inner coelomic surface of the PAW was relatively smooth in  embryos at E11.25. Furthermore,  overexpression in CECs of the PAW promoted ingression of CECs. Taken together, our results suggest that  and  are required for growth and morphological change of the PAW, and the impairment of these processes is linked to the abnormal positioning and expansion of the umbilical ring, which results in omphalocele.

Article	Year
Six1 is a key regulator of the developmental and evolutionary architecture of sensory neurons in craniates. BMC biology\| PubMed ID: 24885223	2014
Heterozygous mice deficient in Atp1a3 exhibit motor deficits by chronic restraint stress. Behavioural brain research\| PubMed ID: 24983657	2014
Mice doubly deficient in and show ventral body wall defects reproducing human omphalocele. Disease models & mechanisms\| PubMed ID: 30237319	2018

Kiyoshi Kawakami

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