Spontaneous spongy degeneration of the mouse brain.

A spontaneously-occurring spongy disorder of the white matter of the central nervous system was discovered in the Charles River strain of Swiss-Webster mice and is described in this report. The disorder was transmitted with an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. Clinical characteristics of the affected animals included enlargement of the cranium, failure to thrive and tremor of the hind limbs when held by the tail in a suspended position. Maintenance of the colony with propagation of the disease was achieved by selective in-breeding of litter mates. Light microscopic examination of the central nervous system revealed a spongy degeneration of the white matter of the entire neuraxis. Ultrastructural studies localized the abnormality to the cell body and processes of the astrocyte which appeared distended and enlarged with dispersion of cytoplasmic organelles. Hemidesmosomes were prominent in the foot processes of astrocytes. This animal model bears a similar morphology and pattern of inheritance to Canavan's spongy degeneration of the white matter in humans and should provide a base for future investigations aimed at gaining insight into the pathogenesis of the human and this animal neurological disorder.