Pl. Kuhn et al., MOTOR FUNCTION-ANALYSIS OF MYELIN MUTANT MICE USING A ROTAROD, International journal of developmental neuroscience, 13(7), 1995, pp. 715-722
We have examined motor control in normal and shiverer mutant mice usin
g the rotarod assay, a forced motor activity which tests for balance a
nd co-ordination. Shiverer mice carry a deletion of the myelin basic p
rotein (MBP) gene, resulting in CNS dysmyelination and characteristic
motor dysfunction. Homozygous mutant mice had a significant increase i
n cumulative falls from the rotarod relative to heterozygous mice. Non
-acclimated animals of both genotypes showed progressive improvement i
n performance when tested on successive days. The rotarod test also di
scriminated shiverer mutants from animals that received gene therapy i
ntervention. Shiverer animals carrying an MBP transgene showed gene-do
sage-dependent improvements in motor function, and mutants which recei
ved thalamic transplants of wild type oligodendrocyte precursor cells
showed improvement relative to sham operated and non-transplanted cont
rols. Thus the rotarod is a sensitive measure of motor function in hyp
omyelinated mice, and may be useful for assessing the results of exper
imental manipulations including transgenic gene therapy and cell trans
plantation.