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P1‐145: Cognitive abilities of Alzheimer transgenic mice as revealed by the IntelliCage system
Author(s) -
Kiryk-Jaskiewicz Anna,
Mochol Gabriela,
Filipkowski Robert K.,
Wawrzyniak Marcin,
Lioudyno Victoria,
Knapska Ewelina,
Leski Szymon,
Van Leuven Fred,
Lipp Hans-Peter,
Wojcik Daniel K.,
Kaczmarek Leszek
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2010.05.694
Subject(s) - morris water navigation task , genetically modified mouse , context (archaeology) , wild type , psychology , transgene , amyloid precursor protein , cognition , disease , developmental psychology , neuroscience , alzheimer's disease , physiology , mutant , medicine , biology , genetics , paleontology , gene
Background: Treadmill gait analysis has been used to assess disease processes in a variety of different mouse models. Based on our observations, APP transgenic mice (Tg2576) move in ways much different than their wild-type (WT) littermates. To quantify these observations, we examined the time components of gait between age-matched Tg2576 and WT mice. However, body mass can play a role in the timing of gait so we compared a subset of two pairs of weight-matched 7 month old Tg2576 and WT mice to assess the effect of body mass as well. Methods: The Tg2576 mouse model has been shown to develop measurable plaque at about 9 months of age. Therefore, the two groups of mice were divided into three age categories; young (3-5 months old, Y), pre-plaque (6-8 months, PrP), and post-plaque (> 9 months, PoP). Gait data were gathered at a treadmill speed of 20 cm/sec. Videos were digitized (DigiGait, Mouse Specifics) and data analyzed by 2-way ANOVA with alpha 1⁄4 0.05. Variables measured included swing, break, propulsion, stance, and stride times as well as stride frequency. Results: A significant age by genotype interaction was found for swing (p 1⁄4 0.018), stance (0.049), and stride times (0.007) as well as stride frequency (0.031). Post-hoc analyses show that the greatest changes occurred in PrP-Tg2576 mice, which had significantly reduced times and increased stride frequency compared to PrP-WT; and the PoP-Tg2576 group, which were different from PoP-WT but not from YTg2576. The weight-matched Tg2576 had significantly lower swing and stride times and increased stride frequency compared to their WT counterparts. Conclusions: We found significant gait changes in the Tg2576 mouse model prior to expected plaque accumulation that are unlikely to be exclusively related to body mass. This may suggest that the Tg2576 model phenotype differs in more than just plaque accumulation. The small sample size may prove to be problematic. However, given the level of statistical significance for most of the variables, this preliminary study is likely to reflect a larger sample size.