However, utilizing Western blotting and qPCR verification, a drop in PPP3CC protein and gene expression levels was found in the AD mice hippocampus, which was comparable to the earlier findings by Eastwood et al. They also discovered lower levels of PPP3CCmRNA expression in hippocampal neurons under pathological conditions in vivo, suggesting that such reductions in expression may contribute to synaptic plasticity failure (Eastwood, Burnet, & Harrison, 2005). The gene discussed is PPP3CC; the disease is Alzheimer disease.