Antiapoptotic protein Lifeguard is required for survival and maintenance of Purkinje and granular cells.

ABSTRACT: Lifeguard (LFG) is an inhibitor of Fas-mediated cell death and is highly expressed in the cerebellum. We investigated the biological role of LFG in the cerebellum in vivo, using mice with reduced LFG expression generated by shRNA lentiviral transgenesis (shLFG mice) as well as LFG null mice. We found that LFG plays a role in cerebellar development by affecting cerebellar size, internal granular layer (IGL) thickness, and Purkinje cell (PC) development. All these features are more severe in early developmental stages and show substantial recovery overtime, providing a remarkable example of cerebellar plasticity. In adult mice, LFG plays a role in PC maintenance shown by reduced cellular density and abnormal morphology with increased active caspase 8 and caspase 3 immunostaining in shLFG and

SUBMITTER: Hurtado de Mendoza T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3193209 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature