α-Synuclein BAC transgenic mice as a model for Parkinson's disease manifested decreased anxiety-like behavior and hyperlocomotion

alpha-Synuclein (alpha-syn), the main component of Lewy bodies, was identified as a genetic risk factor for idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). As a model for PD, we generated human alpha-syn bacterial artificial chromosome transgenic mice (BAC tg mice) harboring the entire human alpha-syn gene and its gene expression regulatory regions. The alpha-syn BAC tg mice manifested decreased anxiety-like behaviors which may reflect non-motor symptoms of early PD, and they exhibited increased SERT expression that may be responsible for decreased anxiety-like behaviors. Our alpha-syn BAC tg mice could be a valuable tool to evaluate alpha-syn gene dosage effects in vivo. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society. All rights reserved.