Telencephalon ‐specific Alkbh1 conditional knockout mice display hippocampal atrophy and impaired learning

AbstractAlkB homolog 1 (ALKBH1) is responsible for the biogenesis of 5 ‐formylcytidine (f5C) on mitochondrial tRNAMet and essential for mitochondrial protein synthesis. The brain, especially the hippocampus, is highly susceptible to mitochondrial dysfunction; hence, the maintenance of mitochondrial activity is strongly required to prevent disorders associated with hippocampal malfunction. To study the role of ALKBH1 in the hippocampus, we generated dorsal telencephalon ‐specificAlkbh1 conditional KO (cKO) mice in inbred C57BL/6 background. These mice showed reduced activity of the respiratory chain complex, hippocampal atrophy and CA1 pyramidal neuron abnormalities. Furthermore, performances in the fear ‐conditioning and Morris water maze tests in cKO mice indicated that the hippocampal abnormalities led to impaired hippocampus‐dependent learning. These findings indicate critical roles of ALKBH1 in the hippocampus.

Source: FEBS Letters - May 4, 2021 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Layla Kawarada, Masahiro Fukaya, Ryo Saito, Hidetoshi Kassai, Hiroyuki Sakagami, Atsu Aiba Tags: RESEARCH LETTER Source Type: research