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Adult motor neurons show increased susceptibility to axotomy‐induced death in mice lacking clusterin
Author(s) -
Wicher Grzegorz K.,
Aldskogius Håkan
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2005.04008.x
Subject(s) - clusterin , axotomy , extracellular , motor neuron , neuroscience , neuroprotection , biology , hypoglossal nerve , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , central nervous system , apoptosis , pathology , spinal cord , biochemistry , tongue
Clusterin is a highly conserved, amphiphatic glycoprotein present in most tissues. It has been shown to be involved in the regulation of lipid transportation, clearance of cellular debris from the extracellular space and intracellular signal transduction. Clusterin is markedly up‐regulated after neural injury but the functional significance of this response is unclear. Here, we show that clusterin up‐regulation is substantially greater in hypoglossal motor neurons after hypoglossal nerve avulsion compared with nerve transection. Quantitative analyses of motor neuron numbers after the same lesions in clusterin(–/–) and clusterin(+/+) mice showed significantly larger numbers of surviving motor neurons in clusterin(+/+) mice. These results suggest that clusterin has a neuroprotective role after axotomy.