Distribution of Calretinin-immunoreactive Unipolar Brush Cells in Ataxic Mutant Pogo Mice Cerebellum / 대한해부학회지

ABSTRACT

Unipolar brush cells (UBCs) are a class of putative interneurons found in the granular layer of mammalian cerebellum and dorsal cochlear nucleus. The unipolar brush cells (UBCs), as with granular cells, which receives afferent synaptic input from extrinsic mossy fiber and whose axons branch in the granular layer and establish a system of cortex-intrinsic mossy fibers, which synapse with granule cells and other UBCs. In general, UBCs have been identified most readily by their expression of the calcium-binding protein, calretinin. The purpose of this study was to provide information about UBCs distributions of the new ataxic animal model, pogo mouse cerebellum using anti-calretinin immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and its effect on calcium homeostasis. Through the examination of calretinin immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence, we observed that many calretinin immunoreactive UBCs were distributed widely throughout the lobules IX and X of the granular layer of both group. But, we found the number of calretinin immunoreactive UBCs of ataxic pogo (pogo/pogo) mouse was decreased and distribution pattern was altered, compared to control mouse. This result also suggest that reduced calretinin expression may effect on cerebellar Ca2+/-homeostasis, and it may in turn, explain the impaired motor coordination found in the ataxic pogo mice.