Normal protein composition of synapses in Ts65Dn mice: a mouse model of Down syndrome.

ABSTRACT: Down syndrome (DS) is the most prevalent form of intellectual disability caused by the triplication of approximately 230 genes on chromosome 21. Recent data in Ts65Dn mice, the foremost mouse model of DS, strongly suggest that cognitive impairment in individuals with DS is a consequence of reduced synaptic plasticity because of chronic over-inhibition. It remains unclear however whether changes in plasticity are tied to global molecular changes at synapses, or are due to regional changes in the functional properties of synaptic circuits. One interesting framework for evaluating the activity state of the DS brain comes from in vitro studies showing that chronic pharmacological silencing of neuronal excitability orchestrates stereotyped changes in the protein composition of synaptic junction

SUBMITTER: Fernandez F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2735138 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature