Deprivation of pantothenic acid elicits a movement disorder and azoospermia in a mouse model of pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration.

ABSTRACT: We asked whether a movement disorder could be elicited by deprivation of pantothenic acid (PA; vitamin B5), the substrate for the enzyme pantothenate kinase 2 (PANK2), which is deficient in the inherited neurological disorder PKAN (pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration formerly called Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome). This study was undertaken because mice made null for Pank2 failed to show the neurological manifestations of the human disease. Wild-type and Pank2 mutant mice were fed pantothenic acid-deficient diets and were monitored for general health, fertility and movement compared with animals on control diets over time. Mice of both genotypes on PA-deficient diets exhibited poor grooming, greying of fur and decreased body weight. With PA deprivation, wild-type mice manifested

SUBMITTER: Kuo YM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2099457 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature