@article {Bichelmeier7418, author = {Ulrike Bichelmeier and Thorsten Schmidt and Jeannette H{\"u}bener and Jana Boy and Lukas R{\"u}ttiger and Karina H{\"a}big and Sven Poths and Michael Bonin and Marlies Knipper and Werner J. Schmidt and Johannes Wilbertz and Hartwig Wolburg and Franco Laccone and Olaf Riess}, title = {Nuclear Localization of Ataxin-3 Is Required for the Manifestation of Symptoms in SCA3: In Vivo Evidence}, volume = {27}, number = {28}, pages = {7418--7428}, year = {2007}, doi = {10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4540-06.2007}, publisher = {Society for Neuroscience}, abstract = {Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) is an autosomal dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of a CAG repeat in the MJD1 gene resulting in an expanded polyglutamine repeat in the ataxin-3 protein. To study the course of the disease, we generated transgenic mice for SCA3 using full-length ataxin-3 constructs containing 15, 70, or 148 CAG repeats, respectively. Control mice (15 CAGs) were phenotypically normal and had no neuropathological findings. However, mice transgenic for ataxin-3 with expanded polyglutamine repeats were severely affected by a strong neurological phenotype with tremor, behavioral deficits, strongly reduced motor and exploratory activity, a hunchback, and premature death at 3 to 6 months of age. Neuropathological examination by immunohistochemical staining revealed ubiquitin- and ataxin-3-positive intranuclear inclusion bodies in a multitude of neurons. Directing ataxin-3 with 148 CAGs to the nucleus revealed an even more pronounced phenotype with more inclusions and earlier death, whereas mice transgenic with the same construct but attached to a nuclear export signal developed a milder phenotype with less inclusions. These studies indicate that nuclear localization of ataxin-3 is required for the manifestation of symptoms in SCA3 in vivo.}, issn = {0270-6474}, URL = {https://www.jneurosci.org/content/27/28/7418}, eprint = {https://www.jneurosci.org/content/27/28/7418.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of Neuroscience} }