Incidence and characterization of polyglucosan bodies in the cerebella of montserrat orioles ( Icterus oberi )
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Polyglucosan bodies are accumulations of insoluble glucose polymers and proteins that form intracytoplasmic inclusions in the brain, large numbers of which can be indicative of neurodegenerative diseases such as Lafora disease. Montserrat orioles ( Icterus oberi ) are an icterid passerine endemic to Montserrat with conservation populations maintained in captivity abroad. We demonstrate that polyglucosan bodies are unusually abundant in the cerebellar molecular and Purkinje cell layers and cerebellar peduncles of captive-bred and wild-caught Montserrat orioles. The bodies are periodic acid-Schiff positive and diastase resistant and label with concanavalin A and for ubiquitin, consistent with those seen in humans. We found no association of the polyglucosan bodies with concurrent neurological lesions or clinical signs, nor with EPM2 A and EPM2B gene mutations associated with Lafora disease. We conclude that an abundance of cerebellar polyglucosan bodies may be a normal finding in aged Montserrat orioles and not a threat to the captive breeding population.
Source: Veterinary Pathology
Institutions: Zoological Society of London, University of Nottingham, Queen Mary University of London, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London, Animal and Plant Health Agency, SeaWorld Entertainment, Chester Zoo, The Francis Crick Institute, Imperial College London, University of Oxford
Language: English
Subfield: Rheumatology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Award: G4024251544
OpenAlex ID: W4401618488