Fig. 1

Wwox^−/− mice exhibit motor disorders. a Tail suspension test revealed abnormal limb-clasping reflex in Wwox^−/− mice at postnatal day 20. b, c Rotarod analysis of motor function in three genotypes of both WD1 and WD234 mice was performed on a constant-speed (b) or accelerating rotarod (c). The latencies from rotation onset until the mice fell off the rod were recorded. Wwox^+/+ and Wwox^+/− mice managed to stay significantly longer on the rotarod than Wwox^−/− mice. d, e Footprint analysis of gait abnormalities in Wwox^−/− mice. Mouse forepaws were marked with red ink and hind paws with blue for gait assessment. The mice with ink on their paws were trained to run down a corridor and the mouse gait patters of three genotypes were obtained (d). The stride length and hind-base width of Wwox^−/− mice were significantly shorter than those of Wwox^+/+ and Wwox^+/− mice (e). Also, the hind to fore-base ratios were lower in Wwox^−/− mice compared with their littermates (e). Differences between Wwox^−/− versus Wwox^+/+ and Wwox^+/− littermates were statistically significant in a one-way ANOVA test. Each result represents the average of data obtained and error bars are standard error of the mean (SEM). n.s., non-significant. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001; RPM, revolutions per minute; N, number of animals tested