NR AVLL
AU Mossner,R.; Yun,S.W.; Lesch,K.P.; Gerlach,M.; Klein,M.A.; Riederer,P.
TI Unaltered susceptibility to scrapie in serotonin transporter deficient mice
QU Neurochemistry International 2006 Oct; 49(5): 454-8
PT journal article
AB The serotonergic system has been hypothesized to play an important role in prion diseases. Specifically, hyperactivity of the serotonergic system in prion diseases is suggested by an increase in the turnover rate of the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) in human and experimental prion diseases. The 5-HT transporter (5-HTT) determines the duration of serotonergic neurotransmission by way of reuptake of 5-HT from the extracellular space. 5-HTT availability is reduced in brains of patients with the human prion disease familial fatal insomnia. To further clarify a possible role of the 5-HTT in prion diseases we investigated whether mice lacking the 5-HTT display an altered susceptibility to experimental scrapie infection. Surprisingly, 5-HTT knockout mice developed mouse scrapie in a time course similar to wildtype control mice with accumulation of the pathological prion protein, PrPsc and with typical pathological hallmarks of the disease. These findings argue against a major role of the 5-HTT in the pathogenesis of prion diseases in mice.
MH Animals; Blotting, Western; *Disease Susceptibility; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; PrPsc Proteins/metabolism; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Scrapie/genetics/*physiopathology; Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins/genetics/*physiology
AD Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Fuchsleinstrasse 15, 97080 Würzburg, Germany. rainald.moessner@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
SP englisch
PO England