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Dementia 2016
September 29-October 01, 2016
Volume 6 Issue 5(Suppl) J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 2016
ISSN:2161-0460 JADP, an open access journal
conferenceseries .com
September 29-October 01, 2016 London, UK
5th International Conference on
Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia
Sunday A Ajayi et al., J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 2016, 6:5(Suppl)
Ins2 gene expression and function in the mouse brain
Sunday A Ajayi, Derek A Dionne, Daria F Hutchinson, Melissa M Page, Sanja Soo, Shernaz X Bamji and James D Johnson
University of British Columbia, Canada
Insulin deficiency and insulin resistance has both been reported in Alzheimer’s disease. This study was designed to examine
whether insulin protein or markers of insulin promoter activity can be observed in the mouse brain and to also determine
the effects of brain-specific insulin gene (Ins2) knockout on behaviour to ascertain the possible role of insulin produced locally
in the brain. We have employed germline Ins2 knockout mice (Ins2-/-), heterozygous mutant mice (Ins2+/-), and their wildtype
littermate controls (Ins2+/+), as well as cell type specific Ins2 knockout mice derived by crossing NesCre, SynCre, or CamkCre
mice with mice harboring a floxed Ins2 allele (on the Ins1-/- background). Mice were genotyped using PCR. Insulin mRNA
analysis using qPCR confirmed the deletion of the Ins2 gene in the germline knockout animals, but revealed a paradoxical
increase in Ins2 mRNA in many brain regions of the Ins1-/-:Ins2f/f:NesCre, Ins1-/-:Ins2f/f:SynCre, Ins1-/-:Ins2 f/f:CamkCre, relative
to their littermate controls, suggesting an upregulation of Ins2 production from non-neuronal cell types within the brain.
Indeed, analysis of Ins2 gene activity using Ins2GFP knock-in mice suggested the presence of Ins2 in non-neuronal cell types
surrounding the ventricles. Interestingly, preliminary behavioural studies (Y-maze, open field test, familiar object test, and
Morris water maze) identified differences in learning and memory in mice lacking Ins2 expression in the brain. Collectively,
these results suggest that Ins2 is expressed in both neuronal and non-neuronal cell types within the brain, where it has complex
roles modulating behavior. This work may shed light on the role of insulin in Alzheimer’s disease.
Biography
Sunday A. Ajayi completed his PhD at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria in 2012 and moved to University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban South Africa between
2013 and 2015 for Postdoctoal Fellowship. In 2016 he relocated to Vancouver, Canada where he is presently a Postdoctoral Fellow sponsored by IBRO-ISN
Research Fellowship in the Laboratory of Professor James D. Johnson at the University of British Columbia.