A metabolomic study of brain tissues from aged mice with low expression of the vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) gene

Neurochem Res. 2008 Feb;33(2):292-300. doi: 10.1007/s11064-007-9542-3. Epub 2007 Nov 29.

Abstract

The vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) sequesters monoamines into synaptic vesicles in preparation for neurotransmission. Samples of cerebellum, cortex, hippocampus, substantia nigra and striatum from VMAT2-deficient mice were compared to age-matched control mice. Multivariate statistical analyses of (1)H NMR spectral profiles separated VMAT2-deficient mice from controls for all five brain regions. Although the data show that metabolic alterations are region- and age-specific, in general, analyses indicated decreases in the concentrations of taurine and creatine/phosphocreatine and increases in glutamate and N-acetyl aspartate in VMAT2-deficient mouse brain tissues. This study demonstrates the efficacy of metabolomics as a functional genomics phenotyping tool for mouse models of neurological disorders, and indicates that mild reductions in the expression of VMAT2 affect normal brain metabolism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aging / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Brain / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular
  • Vesicular Monoamine Transport Proteins / genetics*

Substances

  • Slc18a2 protein, mouse
  • Vesicular Monoamine Transport Proteins