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Molecular and Cellular Biology, September 2001, p. 5970-5978, Vol. 21, No. 17
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.17.5970-5978.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Neurocan Is Dispensable for Brain Development

Xiao-Hong Zhou,1 Cord Brakebusch,1 Henry Matthies,2 Toshitaka Oohashi,3 Emilio Hirsch,3 Markus Moser,4 Manfred Krug,2 Constanze I. Seidenbecher,5 Tobias M. Boeckers,5,6 Uwe Rauch,1 Reinhard Buettner,4 Eckart D. Gundelfinger,5 and Reinhard Fässler1,3,*

Department of Experimental Pathology, Lund University, 221 85 Lund, Sweden,1 and Institute for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Otto von Guericke University, 39120 Magdeburg,2 Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, 82152 Martinsried,3 Institute of Pathology, University Hospital of RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen,4 Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg,5 and AG Molecular Neurobiology, Institute for Anatomy, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, 48149 Münster,6 Germany

Received 23 April 2001/Accepted 30 May 2001

Neurocan is a component of the extracellular matrix in brain. Due to its inhibition of neuronal adhesion and outgrowth in vitro and its expression pattern in vivo it was suggested to play an important role in axon guidance and neurite growth. To study the role of neurocan in brain development we generated neurocan-deficient mice by targeted disruption of the neurocan gene. These mice are viable and fertile and have no obvious deficits in reproduction and general performance. Brain anatomy, morphology, and ultrastructure are similar to those of wild-type mice. Perineuronal nets surrounding neurons appear largely normal. Mild deficits in synaptic plasticity may exist, as maintenance of late-phase hippocampal long-term potentiation is reduced. These data indicate that neurocan has either a redundant or a more subtle function in the development of the brain.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Experimental Pathology, Lund University, 221 85 Lund, Sweden. Phone: 46 46 173400. Fax: 46 46 158202. E-mail: Reinhard.Fassler{at}pat.lu.se.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, September 2001, p. 5970-5978, Vol. 21, No. 17
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.17.5970-5978.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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