2005 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 1-8
The tiptoe walking-Yoshimura (twy) mouse is a mutant strain showing multiple osteochondral lesions including deformity of the vertebral column and cervical myelopathy. The purpose of this study was to clarify both the histopathological alterations occurring in the lower medulla oblongata and higher cervical cord, and the involvement of TGF-β and decorin in pathological ossification, of the twy mouse. Alteration of substantia alba was found in loci compressed by ossification lesions in the higher cervical cord and medulla oblongata. Cellular atrophy and slight defluvium in gray matter were present in the loci with remarkable compression. Diffuse changes were observed in the medulla oblongata and the whole cervical cord. Therefore, we consider the twy mouse to be a useful experimental model for cervical myelopathy including a cranio-cervical junction. It was suggested that ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament progressed around the posterior corner of the vertebral body and anulus fibrosus of the lateral intervertebral disc, because these were stained by anti-TGF-β antibody and anti-decorin antibody.
