Hydrocephalus caused by conditional ablationof the Pten and beta-catenin gene

To investigate the roles of Pten and beta-Catenin in the midbrain, either the Pten gene or the beta-catenin gene was conditionally ablated, using Dmbx1 (diencephalon/mesencephalon-expressed brain homeobox gene 1)-Cre mice. Homozygous disruption of the Pten or beta-catenin gene in Dmbx1-expressing cells caused severe hydrocephalus and mortality during the postnatal period.

Conditional deletion of Pten resulted in enlargement of midbrain structures. Beta-catenin conditional mutant mice showed malformation of the superior and inferior colliculi and stenosis of the midbrain aqueduct.

These results demonstrate that both Pten and beta-Catenin are essential for proper midbrain development, and provide the direct evidence that mutations of both Pten and beta-catenin lead to hydrocephalus.

Author: Akihira Ohtoshi
Credits/Source: Cerebrospinal Fluid Research 2008, 5:16

Published on: 2008-10-19

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