July 2005

News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience

Mice That Feel No Pain

Ken-ichiro Kuwako, Akari Hosokawa, Isao Nishimura, Taichi Uetsuki, Masashi Yamada, Shigeyuki Nada, Masato Okada, and Kazuaki Yoshikawa

Kuwako et al. evaluate mice lacking a paternal copy of the necdin gene (Ndn^+m/-p), a maternally imprinted, patternally expressed multifunctional signaling protein. The mice share behavioral and developmental features with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a genomic imprinting-associated developmental disorder. Ndn^+m/-p mice displayed a higher tolerance for heat-induced pain, as is also frequent in PWS. The authors speculate that necdin may play an analogous role in brain-derived neurotrophic factor/TrkB signaling in central neurons.