Figure 5. Lithium Treatment Increases Icmt/Pccmt mRNA Levels in Sca1^154Q/2Q Cerebellum.

(A) Temporal profile of Icmt/Pccmt mRNA down-regulation in the Sca1^154Q/2Q cerebellum. Cerebellar expression levels of Icmt/Pccmt mRNA in Sca1^154Q/2Q mice and wild-type littermates were compared by Northern analysis. Ethidium bromide-stained RNA gel images are shown as a loading control, which was confirmed by hybridization with Gapdh. 25 μg of total RNA obtained from one cerebellum was loaded in each lane. Densitometric analysis using Gapdh as a control revealed a relative abundance of 0.465 for the 25 week-old Sca1^154Q/2Q cerebellum compared to the respective wild-type littermate cerebella.

(B) Northern blots of cerebellar RNA (25 μg) from two Sca1^154Q/2Q mice and two wild-type littermates treated with lithium (+) or control diet (−) at ten weeks of age (blots on left) were probed with Icmt/Pccmt and Gapdh cDNAs. Quantitative analysis from four independent experiments (bar graph on right), in which total cerebellar RNAs were obtained from one or two Sca1^154Q/2Q mice and one or two wild-type littermates for each experimental group (in total, six Sca1^154Q/2Q mice on lithium diet, four Sca1^154Q/2Q mice on control diet, six wild-type mice on lithium diet, and six wild-type mice on control diet), indicates Icmt/Pccmt expression was significantly increased in lithium-treated Sca1^154Q/2Q mice (bar graph on right). Error bars indicate mean ± SEM.