Distribution of Wfs1 protein in the central nervous system of the mouse and its relation to clinical symptoms of the Wolfram syndrome

Abstract

Mutations in the coding region of the WFS1 gene cause Wolfram syndrome, a rare multisystem neurodegenerative disorder of autosomal recessive inheritance. Patients with Wolfram syndrome display considerable clinical pleiomorphism, and symptoms such as neurological complications and psychiatric disorders are common. In the present study we have characterized Wfs1 expression pattern in the mouse central nervous system by using a combination of immunohistochemistry on wild-type mice and X-Gal staining of Wfs1 knockout mice with targeted insertion of the lacZ reporter. We identified a robust enrichment of Wfs1 protein in the central extended amygdala and ventral striatum. Prominent Wfs1 expression was seen in the hippocampal CA1 region, parasubiculum, superficial part of the second and third layers of the prefrontal cortex and proisocortical areas, hypothalamic magnocellular neurosecretory system, and central auditory pathway. Wfs1 expression was also detected in numerous brainstem nuclei and in laminae VIII and IX of the spinal cord. Wfs1-positive nerve fibers were found in the medial forebrain bundle, reticular part of the substantia nigra, globus pallidus, posterior caudate putamen, lateral lemniscus, alveus, fimbria, dorsal hippocampal commissure, subiculum, and to a lesser extent in the central sublenticular extended amygdala, compact part of substantia nigra, and ventral tegmental area. The neuroanatomical findings suggest that the lack of Wfs1 protein function can be related to several neurological and psychiatric symptoms found in Wolfram syndrome. Enrichment of Wfs1 protein in the central extended amygdala suggests a role in the modulation of anxiety and fear.

Impaired striatal dopamine output of homozygous Wfs1 mutant mice in response to [K+] challenge

“…From the morphological point of view, the Wfs1 protein is expressed at high levels in the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle) and, to a lesser degree, in the caudal part of caudate putamen [12]. In contrast, in the rostral part and in the dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area and compact part of substantia nigra, the Wfs1 protein levels are low [12].…”

Postnatal changes in the distribution and density of neuronal nuclei and doublecortin antigens in domestic chicks (Gallus domesticus)

“…The anti-NeuN antibody recognizes the DNA-binding, neuron-specific protein NeuN (Fox-3) as two to three bands in the 46-48-kDa range on Western blot analysis and is specific to nuclei only of postmitotic neurons (manufacturer's information; Mullen et al, 1992;Luuk et al, 2008).…”

Anoxia-Induced NMDA Receptor Activation Opens Pannexin Channels via Src Family Kinases

“…1C), we sought to confirm a role for Panx1 in the AD independently of pharmacological interventions. To this end, we generated conditional Panx1 knock-out mice by crossing mice with floxed exon 2 of the Panx1 gene with a tamoxifen-inducible cre-recombinase line driven by the wolfram syndrome 1 (wfs1) promoter (see Materials and Methods), which is highly expressed in the hippocampus (Luuk et al, 2008). Intraperitoneal injections of tamoxifen to 21-to 35-d-old mice induced deletion of Panx1 as indicated by loss of immunoreactivity to ␣-Panx1 (Fig.…”