A mouse prion protein transgene rescues mice deficient for the prion protein gene from purkinje cell degeneration and demyelination.

  • 1 June 1999
    • journal article
    • Vol. 79  (6) , 689-97
Abstract
Disruption of both alleles of the prion protein gene, Prnp, renders mice resistant to prions; in a Prnp o/o line reported by some of us, mice progressively developed ataxia and Purkinje cell loss. Here we report torpedo-like axonal swellings associated with residual Purkinje cells in Prnp o/o mice, and we demonstrate abnormal myelination in the spinal cord and peripheral nerves in mice from two independently established Prnp o/o lines. Mice were successfully rescued from both demyelination and Purkinje cell degeneration by introduction of a transgene encoding wild-type mouse cellular prion protein. These findings suggest that cellular prion protein expression may be necessary to maintain the integrity of the nervous system.

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