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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5
pubmed:dateCreated
2005-7-19
pubmed:abstractText
Patients with severe deficiency of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) suffer from a wide variety of neurological problems, which can begin in the neonatal period. MTHFR is a critical enzyme in folate metabolism; the product of the MTHFR reaction, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, is required for homocysteine remethylation to methionine and synthesis of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM). To understand the mechanisms by which MTHFR deficiency leads to significant neuropathology, we examined early postnatal brain development in mice with a homozygous knockout of the Mthfr gene. These mice displayed a dramatically reduced size of the cerebellum and cerebral cortex, with enlarged lateral ventricles. Mthfr deficiency affected granule cell maturation, but not neurogenesis. Depletion of external granule cells and disorganization of Purkinje cells were mainly confined to the anterior lobules of mutant cerebella. Decreased cellular proliferation and increased cell death contributed to the granule cell loss. Reduced expression of Engrailed-2 (En2), Reelin (Reln) and inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor type 1 (Itpr1) genes was observed in the cerebellum. Supplementation of Mthfr(+/-) dams with an alternate methyl donor, betaine, reduced cerebellar abnormalities in the Mthfr(-/-) pups. Our findings suggest that MTHFR plays a role in cerebellar patterning, possibly through effects on proliferation or apoptosis.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
0736-5748
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
23
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
465-74
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Animals, Newborn, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Apoptosis, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Betaine, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Body Patterning, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Body Weight, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Brain, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Cell Division, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Cell Movement, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Cerebellum, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Female, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Gene Expression, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2), pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Mice, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Mice, Knockout, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Neurons, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Organ Size, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Pregnancy, pubmed-meshheading:15979267-Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
pubmed:year
2005
pubmed:articleTitle
Postnatal cerebellar defects in mice deficient in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase.
pubmed:affiliation
Departments of Human Genetics, Pediatrics and Biology, McGill University and Montreal Children's Hospital Research Institute, 4060 Ste. Catherine West, Room 200, Montreal, Que., Canada H3Z 2Z3.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't