Abstract:Objective To investigate the changing regularity of the Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (DSCAM) expression in the brain of amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice and explore the significance of DSCAM expression. Methods With immunohistochemistry and Western blot, the expression of DSCAM in the brains of APP transgenic mice (aged 1 m, 3 m, 6 m and 12 m), especially the expression pattern and location in hippocampus were detected. The control group included age-matched wide type mice. Results DSCAM was widely expressed in the cerebral cortex and hippocampal pyramidal cell layer in the APP transgenic mice. The expression of DSCAM decreased with age in the hippocampus of APP transgenic and wild-type mice (P < 0.05). The hippocampus expression level of DSCAM in the APP transgenic mice was higher than that in the wild-type mice (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in DSCAM expression between 1-month old and 3-month old mice (P > 0.05). Conclusions We propose that overexpression of DSCAM in the hippocampus might play an important role in the learning and memory defects of APP transgenic mice.