Delayed-onset ataxia in mice lacking α-tocopherol transfer protein: model for neuronal degeneration caused by chronic oxidative stress

T Yokota, K Igarashi, T Uchihara… - Proceedings of the …, 2001 - National Acad Sciences
T Yokota, K Igarashi, T Uchihara, K Jishage, H Tomita, A Inaba, Y Li, M Arita, H Suzuki…
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2001National Acad Sciences
α-Tocopherol transfer protein (α-TTP) maintains the concentration of serum α-tocopherol
(vitamin E), one of the most potent fat-soluble antioxidants, by facilitating α-tocopherol export
from the liver. Mutations of the α-TTP gene are linked to ataxia with isolated vitamin E
deficiency (AVED). We produced a model mouse of AVED by deleting the α-TTP gene,
which showed ataxia and retinal degeneration after 1 year of age. Because the brain α-TTP
functions in maintaining α-tocopherol levels in the brain, α-tocopherol was completely …
α-Tocopherol transfer protein (α-TTP) maintains the concentration of serum α-tocopherol (vitamin E), one of the most potent fat-soluble antioxidants, by facilitating α-tocopherol export from the liver. Mutations of the α-TTP gene are linked to ataxia with isolated vitamin E deficiency (AVED). We produced a model mouse of AVED by deleting the α-TTP gene, which showed ataxia and retinal degeneration after 1 year of age. Because the brain α-TTP functions in maintaining α-tocopherol levels in the brain, α-tocopherol was completely depleted in the α-TTP−/− mouse brain, and the neurological phenotype of α-TTP−/− mice is much more severe than that of wild-type mice when maintained on an α-tocopherol-deficient diet. Lipid peroxidation in α-TTP−/− mice brains showed a significant increase, especially in degenerating neurons. α-Tocopherol supplementation suppressed lipid peroxidation and almost completely prevented the development of neurological symptoms. This therapy almost completely corrects the abnormalities in a mouse model of human neurodegenerative disease. Moreover, α-TTP−/− mice may prove to be excellent animal models of delayed onset, slowly progressive neuronal degeneration caused by chronic oxidative stress.
National Acad Sciences