720 Hippocampal and cerebellar BDNF levels in the Ts65Dn mouse model of Down syndrome

HealthCenter,ObstetricsandGynecology,Farmington,CT OBJECTIVE: Down Syndrome (DS) affects about one in 800 newborns and is associated with developmental delay and learning impairment. BDNFisaneurotrophinthatisessentialinnormalneuronaldevelopment and synaptic plasticity which underlie paradigms of learning andmemory.Theobjectiveofthisstudywastoevaluateifhippocampal and cerebellar levels of BDNF are altered in a DS model. STUDY DESIGN: We used a well characterized mouse model of DS (Ts65Dn). Learning and memory were assessed in the Morris watermaze with the Ts65Dn animals demonstrating a learning deficit. After completion of the behavioral testing, the brains were removed and microdissected to obtain hippocampus and cerebellum. BDNF was measured in the protein lysates using a microsphere-based multiplex immunoassay (Luminex xMAP, Millipore) and normalized to proteinlevels.Statisticalanalysisincludedthenon-parametricMannWhitney U for the BDNF data P.05 significant. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the levels (median [range])of BDNF in the hippocampus [ (386.6 [165.5-617.4] vs 367.3 [212.4-587.0]pg/mL)intheTs65Dnascomparedtotheeuploid(control)animals(Figure).Similarly,therewerenodifferencesinBDNFin the cerebellum (48.5 [33.9-104.6] vs 41.3 [28.0-71.0] pg/mL) from