Disruption of the olivo-cerebellar circuit by Purkinje neuron-specific ablation of BK channels.

ABSTRACT: The large-conductance voltage- and calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels are ubiquitously expressed in the brain and play an important role in the regulation of neuronal excitation. Previous work has shown that the total deletion of these channels causes an impaired motor behavior, consistent with a cerebellar dysfunction. Cellular analyses showed that a decrease in spike firing rate occurred in at least two types of cerebellar neurons, namely in Purkinje neurons (PNs) and in Golgi cells. To determine the relative role of PNs, we developed a cell-selective mouse mutant, which lacked functional BK channels exclusively in PNs. The behavioral analysis of these mice revealed clear symptoms of ataxia, indicating that the BK channels of PNs are of major importance for normal motor coordinati

SUBMITTER: Chen X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2901450 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature