• reduced amphetamine-induced motor activity

• reduced body weight after weaning, both males and females

• reduced rectal temperature relative to wild-type

• increased in the limbic brain areas

• increased levels of the MAO-derived metabolite, DOPAC, relative to COMT-derived metabolite, 3-MT, indicating an impairment of dopamine release

• no evidence of muscle degeneration (J:85561)

• brain morphology, weight, and size were normal (J:85561)

• increased in the limbic brain areas

• increased levels of the MAO-derived metabolite, DOPAC, relative to COMT-derived metabolite, 3-MT, indicating an impairment of dopamine release

• inhibition of dopamine neurotransmission

• inhibition of glutamate neurotransmission

• normal levels of 5-HT and 5-HIAA in the striatum, limbic system, diencephalon, and brainstem

• null mice have increased mortality risk, displaying early onset of mortality and more rapid decline after 12 months of age

• aged mice show dyskinesia and a tendency to reduced mobility

• significant shortening of hind-limb stride length relative to controls

• mutants display dystonic tails

• aged mice show reduction in area of substantia nigra

• in aged mice, soluble and sarkosyl insoluble tau levels are increased 200% in striatum compared to age-matched controls; tau levels are elevated in cerebral cortex

• tau immunoreactive clusters of dystrophic neurites are increased in hippocampi of 22-month old null animals

• in cultured neurons from aged mice, tau accumulation in neuritic varicosities and perinuclear areas results in disruption of neuronal axons; tau accumulation is higher than in wild-type

• ~35% loss of dopaminergic (tyrosine hydroxylase +ve) neurons in substantia nigra relative to controls or young Park2-null mice

• cortical neuron degeneration is observed in aged mice

• seen in aged mice

• postural abnormalities cause respiratory problems

• dorsal kyphosis

• focal alopecia observed in aged mice

• YFP+ neurons exhibit one or more grossly enlarged, rounded mitochondria in the perinuclear region of the soma and in proximal segment of dendrites with some cells containing fragmented mitochondria and small, spherical mitochondrial clustered around the nucleus

• YFP+ neurons exhibit a progressive reduction in distal axonal mitochondrial numbers compared with control cells

• however, mitochondria in the distal dopamine axons are morphologically spared

• neurons exhibit less intense staining with a retrograde tracer (fluorogold) suggesting impaired retrograde transport and/or uptake of the tracer compared with control cells