Pelvic axis-based gait analysis for ataxic mice

•Unlike the conventional method in which the nasal apex and base of the tail are used for mouse gait analysis, we have developed pelvic axis.•Based on this axis, we have established pelvic axis-based gait analysis method.•The scatter plots together with the limb angle analyses clearly show the differentiability of the mice groups with central nervous system degeneration and the healthy mice group. Although different gait analysis methods such as Walking Track Analysis exist, they cannot be used to demonstrate the physical condition of mice with specific gait disorder characteristic. Therefore, we developed a new method for the gait analysis of such mice to accurately assess hind limb angle based on the pelvic axis. We established and verified a gait analysis method capable of pelvic axis-based limb angle measurement by video-recording the gait of a control mice group (C57BL/6J(B6)) and three ataxic mice (ataxic B6-wob/t, Parkinson's disease model (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine treated (MPTP)), and cerebellum hypoplasia (cytosine-β-d-arabinofuranoside treated)) from the ventral side. The assessed hind limb angles of B6-wob/t and MPTP-treated mice were significantly wider than B6 mice (p