Event:

Truncating mutations in spastizin cause a form of hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) in humans. Spasticity of the lower legs is a main symptom and is provoked by retrograde degeneration of descending corticospinal tract axons in teenagers and adults. The cellular process causing HSP is still debated and currently there is no therapy available for HSP patients. Even though earlier studies could not show a distinct locomotion phenotype in larvae with a mutation in SPG15/Spastizin, we discovered a motility defect in adult zebrafish. These behavioural findings are corroborated by anatomical studies, which show neuronal degeneration in the cortical spine. Thus we believe adult zebrafish might be a fruitful model for HSP.