AUTHOR=Xu Congyu , Yu Linjie , Hou Jinxing , Jackson Rosemary J. , Wang He , Huang Chaoli , Liu Tingting , Wang Qihui , Zou Xiaochuan , Morris Richard G. , Spires-Jones Tara L. , Yang Zhongzhou , Yin Zhenyu , Xu Yun , Chen Guiquan 

TITLE=Conditional Deletion of PDK1 in the Forebrain Causes Neuron Loss and Increased Apoptosis during Cortical Development

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2017

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fncel.2017.00330

DOI=10.3389/fncel.2017.00330

ISSN=1662-5102

ABSTRACT=<p>Decreased expression but increased activity of PDK1 has been observed in neurodegenerative disease. To study <italic>in vivo</italic> function of PDK1 in neuron survival during cortical development, we generate forebrain-specific <italic>PDK1</italic> conditional knockout (cKO) mice. We demonstrate that <italic>PDK1</italic> cKO mice display striking neuron loss and increased apoptosis. We report that <italic>PDK1</italic> cKO mice exhibit deficits on several behavioral tasks. Moreover, <italic>PDK1</italic> cKO mice show decreased activities for Akt and mTOR. These results highlight an essential role of endogenous PDK1 in the maintenance of neuronal survival during cortical development.</p>