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Dell'agnello, C. et al.

Increased longevity and refractoriness to Ca2+-dependent neurodegeneration in Surf1 knockout mice.

Leigh syndrome associated with cytochrome c oxidase ( COX) deficiency is a mitochondrial disorder usually caused by mutations of SURF1, a gene encoding a putative COX assembly factor. We present here a Surf1-/- recombinant mouse obtained by inserting a loxP sequence in the open reading frame of the gene. The frequency of -/-, +/+ and +/- genotypes in newborn mice followed a mendelian distribution, indicating that the ablation of Surf1 is compatible with postnatal survival. The biochemical and assembly COX defect was present in Surf1(loxP)-/- mice, but milder than in humans. Surprisingly, not only these animals failed to show spontaneous neurodegeneration at any age, but they also displayed markedly prolonged lifespan, and complete protection from Ca(2+)-dependent neurotoxicity induced by kainic acid. Experiments on primary neuronal cultures showed markedly reduced rise of cytosolic and mitochondrial Ca(2+) in Surf1(loxP)-/- neurons, and reduced mortality, compared to controls. The mitochondrial membrane potential was unchanged in KO versus wild-type neurons, suggesting that the effects of the ablation of Surf1 on Ca(2+) homeostasis, and possibly on longevity, may be independent, at least in part, from those on COX assembly and mitochondrial bioenergetics.[1]

References

Increased longevity and refractoriness to Ca2+-dependent neurodegeneration in Surf1 knockout mice. Dell'agnello, C., Leo, S., Agostino, A., Szabadkai, G., Tiveron, C., Zulian, A., Prelle, A., Roubertoux, P., Rizzuto, R., Zeviani, M. Hum. Mol. Genet. (2007) [Pubmed]

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