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  1. Physiological characterization of formyl peptide receptor expressing cells in the mouse vomeronasal organ

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    Tobias eAckels

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The mouse vomeronasal organ (VNO is a chemosensory structure that detects both hetero- and conspecific social cues. Based on largely monogenic expression of either type 1 or 2 vomeronasal receptors (V1Rs / V2Rs or members of the formyl peptide receptor (FPR family, the vomeronasal sensory epithelium harbors at least three neuronal subpopulations. While various neurophysiological properties of both V1R- and V2R-expressing neurons have been described using genetically engineered mouse models, the basic biophysical characteristics of the more recently identified FPR-expressing vomeronasal neurons have not been studied. Here, we employ a transgenic mouse strain that coexpresses an enhanced variant of yellow fluorescent protein together with FPR-rs3 allowing to identify and analyze FPR-rs3-expressing neurons in acute VNO tissue slices. Single neuron electrophysiological recordings allow comparative characterization of the biophysical properties inherent to a prototypical member of the FPR-expressing subpopulation of VNO neurons. In this study, we provide an in-depth analysis of both passive and active membrane properties, including detailed characterization of several types of voltage-activated conductances and action potential discharge patterns, in fluorescently labeled versus unmarked vomeronasal neurons. Our results reveal striking similarities in the basic (electrophysiological architecture of both transgene-expressing and non-expressing neurons, confirming the suitability of this genetically engineered mouse model for future studies addressing more specialized issues in vomeronasal FPR neurobiology.

  2. In vivo stimulus presentation to the mouse vomeronasal system: Surgery, experiment, setup, and software.

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    Yoles-Frenkel, Michal; Cohen, Oksana; Bansal, Rohini; Horesh, Noa; Ben-Shaul, Yoram

    2017-06-15

    Achieving controlled stimulus delivery is a major challenge in the physiological analysis of the vomeronasal system (VNS). We provide a comprehensive description of a setup allowing controlled stimulus delivery into the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of anesthetized mice. VNO suction is achieved via electrical stimulation of the sympathetic nerve trunk (SNT) using cuff electrodes, followed by flushing of the nasal cavity. Successful application of this methodology depends on several aspects including the surgical preparation, fabrication of cuff electrodes, experimental setup modifications, and the stimulus delivery and flushing. Here, we describe all these aspects in sufficient detail to allow other researchers to readily adopt it. We also present a custom written MATLAB based software with a graphical user interface that controls all aspects of the actual experiment, including trial sequencing, hardware control, and data logging. The method allows measurement of stimulus evoked sensory responses in brain regions that receive vomeronasal inputs. An experienced investigator can complete the entire surgical procedure within thirty minutes. This is the only approach that allows repeated and controlled stimulus delivery to the intact VNO, employing the natural mode of stimulus uptake. The approach is economical with respect to stimuli, requiring stimulus volumes as low as 1-2μl. This comprehensive description will allow other investigators to adapt this setup to their own experimental needs and can thus promote our physiological understanding of this fascinating chemosensory system. With minor changes it can also be adapted for other rodent species. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Conserved repertoire of orthologous vomeronasal type 1 receptor genes in ruminant species

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    Okamura Hiroaki

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In mammals, pheromones play an important role in social and innate reproductive behavior within species. In rodents, vomeronasal receptor type 1 (V1R, which is specifically expressed in the vomeronasal organ, is thought to detect pheromones. The V1R gene repertoire differs dramatically between mammalian species, and the presence of species-specific V1R subfamilies in mouse and rat suggests that V1R plays a profound role in species-specific recognition of pheromones. In ruminants, however, the molecular mechanism(s for pheromone perception is not well understood. Interestingly, goat male pheromone, which can induce out-of-season ovulation in anestrous females, causes the same pheromone response in sheep, and vice versa, suggesting that there may be mechanisms for detecting "inter-species" pheromones among ruminant species. Results We isolated 23 goat and 21 sheep intact V1R genes based on sequence similarity with 32 cow V1R genes in the cow genome database. We found that all of the goat and sheep V1R genes have orthologs in their cross-species counterparts among these three ruminant species and that the sequence identity of V1R orthologous pairs among these ruminants is much higher than that of mouse-rat V1R orthologous pairs. Furthermore, all goat V1Rs examined thus far are expressed not only in the vomeronasal organ but also in the main olfactory epithelium. Conclusion Our results suggest that, compared with rodents, the repertoire of orthologous V1R genes is remarkably conserved among the ruminants cow, sheep and goat. We predict that these orthologous V1Rs can detect the same or closely related chemical compound(s within each orthologous set/pair. Furthermore, all identified goat V1Rs are expressed in the vomeronasal organ and the main olfactory epithelium, suggesting that V1R-mediated ligand information can be detected and processed by both the main and accessory olfactory systems. The fact that ruminant and rodent V1Rs

  4. Role of the vomeronasal organ on the estral cycle reduction by pheromones in the rat.

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    Mora, O A; Sánchez-Criado, J E; Guisado, S

    1985-09-01

    The role of he vomeronasal organ on the estral cycle reduction induced by pheromones is studied in adult female wistar rats. The animals were divided in three groups: I, intact rats; II, vomeronasalectomized rats (VNX); and III, sham operated rats (sham). Each group was submitted to another three distinct conditions from the day they were weaned (21 days old): Isolated female rats; with male odors from two adult males of tested sexual potency, and isolated rats again. The isolated intact rats show mainly 5 day length cycles. The groups I and III (intacts and sham) with male odors, show 4 day length cycles. The VNX animals show 5 day cycles in any one experimental conditions. These results support the idea that the vomeronasal organ is the receptor of the male reducing cycle pheromone in the female rat.

  5. High-throughput Microarray Detection of Vomeronasal Receptor Gene Expression in Rodents

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    Xiaohong Zhang

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available We performed comprehensive data mining to explore the vomeronasal receptor (V1R & V2R repertoires in mouse and rat using the mm5 and rn3 genome, respectively. This bioinformatic analysis was followed by investigation of gene expression using a custom designed high-density oligonucleotide array containing all of these receptors and other selected genes of interest. This array enabled us to detect the specific expression of V1R and V2Rs which were previously identified solely based on computational prediction from gene sequence data, thereby establishing that these genes are indeed part of the vomeronasal system, especially the V2Rs. 168 V1Rs and 98 V2Rs were detected to be highly enriched in mouse vomeronasal organ (VNO, and 108 V1Rs and 87 V2Rs in rat VNO. We monitored the expression profile of mouse VR genes in other non-VNO tissues with the result that some VR genes were re-designated as VR-like genes based on their non-olfactory expression pattern. Temporal expression profiles for mouse VR genes were characterized and their patterns were classified, revealing the developmental dynamics of these so-called pheromone receptors. We found numerous patterns of temporal expression which indicate possible behavior-related functions. The uneven composition of VR genes in certain patterns suggests a functional differentiation between the two types of VR genes. We found the coherence between VR genes and transcription factors in terms of their temporal expression patterns. In situ hybridization experiments were performed to evaluate the cell number change over time for selected receptor genes.

  6. The vomeronasal system of the mink, Mustela vison. I. The vomeronasal organ.

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    Salazar, I; Cifuentes, J M; Quinteiro, P S; Caballero, G

    1994-01-01

    The vomeronasal organ (VNO) of the mink is restricted to the area of the Fissura palatina and thus always topographically related to the Ductus incisivus (DI). The VNO and DI have also a functional relation because the vomeronasal duct ends in the incisive duct. On the other hand, as the DI has its mouth in the Papilla incisiva there is a communication between the VNO and the oral cavity. The vomeronasal cartilage, approximately in 1/6 of its length, wraps completely the parenchyma of the VNO whose main structure is the vomeronasal duct, with two different epithelia: sensory receptor in the medial wall, and respiratory in the lateral one. Nevertheless the variations of epithelia belong to the segment of the duct because in its rostral and caudal parts the medial and lateral epithelia are very similar. Branches and tubular PAS positive glands stand out in three points: superior, inferior and medial areas of the vomeronasal duct in which they end. An important number of vessels, mainly veins of different diameter, are located around the duct, while the nervous fibers are close to the medial wall of the duct and very easy to identify in the caudal third of the organ. Two immunohistochemical techniques were used to identify the nerve fibers and the receptor cells.

  7. Vomeronasal versus olfactory epithelium: is there a cellular basis for human vomeronasal perception?

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    Witt, Martin; Hummel, Thomas

    2006-01-01

    The vomeronasal organ (VNO) constitutes an accessory olfactory organ that receives chemical stimuli, pheromones, which elicit behavioral, reproductive, or neuroendocrine responses among individuals of the same species. In many macrosmatic animals, the morphological substrate constitutes a separate organ system consisting of a vomeronasal duct (ductus vomeronasalis, VND), equipped with chemosensory cells, and a vomeronasal nerve (nervus vomeronasalis, VNN) conducting information into the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) in the central nervous system (CNS). Recent data require that the long-accepted dual functionality of a main olfactory system and the VNO be reexamined, since all species without a VNO are nevertheless sexually active, and species possessing a VNO also can sense other than "vomeronasal" stimuli via the vomeronasal epithelium (VNE). The human case constitutes a borderline situation, as its embryonic VNO anlage exerts a developmental track common to most macrosmatics, but later typical structures such as the VNN, AOB, and probably most of the chemoreceptor cells within the still existent VND are lost. This review also presents recent information on the VND including immunohistochemical expression of neuronal markers, intermediate filaments, lectins, integrins, caveolin, CD44, and aquaporins. Further, we will address the issue of human pheromone candidates.

  8. Functional promiscuity in a mammalian chemosensory system: extensive expression of vomeronasal receptors in the main olfactory epithelium of mouse lemurs

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    Philipp eHohenbrink

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The vomeronasal organ (VNO is functional in most terrestrial mammals, though progressively reduced in the primate lineage, and is used for intraspecific communication and predator recognition. Vomeronasal receptor (VR genes comprise two families of chemosensory genes (V1R and V2R that have been considered to be specific for the VNO. However, recently a large number of VRs were reported to be expressed in the main olfactory epithelium (MOE of mice, but there is little knowledge of the expression of these genes outside of rodents. To explore the function of VR genes in mammalian evolution, we analyzed and compared the expression of 64 V1R and 2 V2R genes in the VNO and the MOE of the grey mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus, the primate with the largest known VR repertoire. We furthermore compared expression patterns in adults of both sexes and seasons, and in an infant. A large proportion (83% – 97% of the VR loci was expressed in the VNO of all individuals. The repertoire in the infant was as rich as in adults, indicating reliance on olfactory communication from early postnatal development onwards. In concordance with mice, we also detected extensive expression of VRs in the MOE, with proportions of expressed loci in individuals ranging from 29% to 45%. TRPC2, which encodes a channel protein crucial for signal transduction via VRs, was co-expressed in the MOE in all individuals indicating likely functionality of expressed VR genes in the MOE. In summary, the large VR repertoire in mouse lemurs seems to be highly functional. Given the differences in the neural pathways of MOE and VNO signals, which project to higher cortical brain centers or the limbic system, respectively, this raises the intriguing possibility that the evolution of MOE-expression of VRs enabled mouse lemurs to adaptively diversify the processing of VR-encoded olfactory information.

  9. Cladistic analysis of olfactory and vomeronasal systems.

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    Ubeda-Bañon, Isabel; Pro-Sistiaga, Palma; Mohedano-Moriano, Alicia; Saiz-Sanchez, Daniel; de la Rosa-Prieto, Carlos; Gutierrez-Castellanos, Nicolás; Lanuza, Enrique; Martinez-Garcia, Fernando; Martinez-Marcos, Alino

    2011-01-01

    Most tetrapods possess two nasal organs for detecting chemicals in their environment, which are the sensory detectors of the olfactory and vomeronasal systems. The seventies' view that the olfactory system was only devoted to sense volatiles, whereas the vomeronasal system was exclusively specialized for pheromone detection was challenged by accumulating data showing deep anatomical and functional interrelationships between both systems. In addition, the assumption that the vomeronasal system appeared as an adaptation to terrestrial life is being questioned as well. The aim of the present work is to use a comparative strategy to gain insight in our understanding of the evolution of chemical "cortex." We have analyzed the organization of the olfactory and vomeronasal cortices of reptiles, marsupials, and placental mammals and we have compared our findings with data from other taxa in order to better understand the evolutionary history of the nasal sensory systems in vertebrates. The olfactory and vomeronsasal cortices have been re-investigated in garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis), short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica), and rats (Rattus norvegicus) by tracing the efferents of the main and accessory olfactory bulbs using injections of neuroanatomical anterograde tracers (dextran-amines). In snakes, the medial olfactory tract is quite evident, whereas the main vomeronasal-recipient structure, the nucleus sphaericus is a folded cortical-like structure, located at the caudal edge of the amygdala. In marsupials, which are acallosal mammals, the rhinal fissure is relatively dorsal and the olfactory and vomeronasal cortices relatively expanded. Placental mammals, like marsupials, show partially overlapping olfactory and vomeronasal projections in the rostral basal telencephalon. These data raise the interesting question of how the telencephalon has been re-organized in different groups according to the biological relevance of chemical senses.

  10. Role of the vomeronasal system in intersexual attraction in female mice.

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    Martínez-Ricós, J; Agustín-Pavón, C; Lanuza, E; Martínez-García, F

    2008-05-02

    Although it is generally accepted that rodents' sociosexual behavior relies mainly on chemosignals, the specific roles played by the vomeronasal and olfactory systems in detecting these signals are presently unclear. This work reports the results of three experiments aimed at clarifying the role of the vomeronasal system on gender recognition and intersexual attraction, by analyzing the effects of lesions of the accessory olfactory bulbs (AOB) in chemically naïve female mice. The first experiment demonstrates that lesions of the AOB abolish the preference that females show for male-soiled bedding in tests in which the females can contact the bedding, thus having access to both volatile and involatile male chemosignals. The second experiment shows that airborne male-derived chemosignals are not attractive to intact, chemically naïve females but tend to be preferentially explored by females whose AOB has been lesioned. However, repeated exposure to male-soiled bedding has opposite effects in sham-operated and AOB-lesioned female mice. Whereas after this experience sham-operated females show an (acquired) attraction toward male airborne chemosignals, in AOB-lesioned females the same experience makes male-derived volatiles aversive. Finally, in the third experiment we have confirmed that our AOB-lesioned females are able to detect urine-borne male odorants, as well as to discriminate them from the synthetic terpene geraniol. These findings strongly suggest that in mice, the involatile male sexual pheromone that is intrinsically attractive is detected by the vomeronasal system of the females. In addition, the repeated experience of females with male-soiled bedding would probably allow the association of this pheromone, acting as unconditioned stimulus, with olfactory stimuli (odorants) that therefore would become conditioned attractors to the females.

  11. Radiation-induced adaptive response in the intact mouse

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    Yonezawa, Morio

    2009-01-01

    The author and coworkers have revealed that radiation adaptive response (AR) is seen also in the bone marrow of the intact mouse, of which details are described here. First, SPF ICR mice were pre-irradiated (PI) with 0-0.1 Gy of X-ray and after 2 months, subsequently irradiated (SI) with 7.75 Gy. Survival rates at 30 days after SI were about 14% in mice with PI 0-0.025 Gy whereas 40% or more in animals with PI 0.05-0.1 Gy: bone marrow death was found significantly suppressed in this effective PI dose range. The death 2 weeks after SI was found also inhibited at PI 0.3-0.5 Gy. Second, PI doses and interval between PI and SI for acquiring the radio-resistance (RR) were studied and third, the PI 0.3-0.5 Gy with SI 8.0 Gy at 9-17 days later revealed that regional PI of the head (central nervous system) was found unnecessary for RR and of abdomen (systems of hemopoiesis, immunity and digestion), essential. Fourth, strain difference of RR was shown by the fact that RR was observed only in C57BL mouse as well, but neither in BALB/c nor C3H strain. Next, at 12 days after SI 4.25-6.75 Gy (PI 0.5 Gy at 14 days before), mouse spleen cells were subjected to colony formation analysis by counting the endogenous hemopoietic stem cells, which revealed that those cells were increased to about 5 times by PI. Suppression of SI-induced hemorrhage was found in mice with PI by the decreased fecal hemoglobin content. Finally, AR was similarly studied in p53 +/+ and its knockout C57BL mice and was not found in the latter animal, indicating the participation of p53 in AR of the intact mouse. Elucidation of AR mechanisms in the intact animal seems to require somewhat different aspect from that in cells. The results were controvertible to the general concept that radiation risk is proportional to cumulative dose, suggesting that low dose radiation differs from high dose one in biological effect. (K.T.)

  12. Morphological Studies Of Vomeronasal Organ In The Wild Juvenile ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The vomeronasal organ (VNO) of the juvenile Red-flanked duiker (Cephalophus rufilatus) weighingbetween 0814 kg was studied by gross dissection and light mcroscopy. The organ was found to be present at the base of the nasal septum completely housed by the vomeronasal cartilage, but the various soft tissue ...

  13. The role of main olfactory and vomeronasal systems in animal ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In many terrestrial tetrapod, olfactory sensory communication is mediated by two anatomically and functionally distinct sensory systems; the main olfactory system and vomeronasal system (accessory olfactory system). Recent anatomical studies of the central pathways of the olfactory and vomeronasal systems showed that ...

  14. Vomeronasal inputs to the rodent ventral striatum.

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    Ubeda-Bañon, I; Novejarque, A; Mohedano-Moriano, A; Pro-Sistiaga, P; Insausti, R; Martinez-Garcia, F; Lanuza, E; Martinez-Marcos, A

    2008-03-18

    Vertebrates sense chemical signals through the olfactory and vomeronasal systems. In squamate reptiles, which possess the largest vomeronasal system of all vertebrates, the accessory olfactory bulb projects to the nucleus sphericus, which in turn projects to a portion of the ventral striatum known as olfactostriatum. Characteristically, the olfactostriatum is innervated by neuropeptide Y, tyrosine hydroxylase and serotonin immunoreactive fibers. In this study, the possibility that a structure similar to the reptilian olfactostriatum might be present in the mammalian brain has been investigated. Injections of dextran-amines have been aimed at the posteromedial cortical amygdaloid nucleus (the putative mammalian homologue of the reptilian nucleus sphericus) of rats and mice. The resulting anterograde labeling includes the olfactory tubercle, the islands of Calleja and sparse terminal fields in the shell of the nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum. This projection has been confirmed by injections of retrograde tracers into the ventral striato-pallidum that render retrograde labeling in the posteromedial cortical amygdaloid nucleus. The analysis of the distribution of neuropeptide Y, tyrosine hydroxylase, serotonin and substance P in the ventral striato-pallidum of rats, and the anterograde tracing of the vomeronasal amygdaloid input in the same material confirm that, similar to reptiles, the ventral striatum of mammals includes a specialized vomeronasal structure (olfactory tubercle and islands of Calleja) displaying dense neuropeptide Y-, tyrosine hydroxylase- and serotonin-immunoreactive innervations. The possibility that parts of the accumbens shell and/or ventral pallidum could be included in the mammalian olfactostriatum cannot be discarded.

  15. Vomeronasal organ lesion disrupts social odor recognition, behaviors and fitness in golden hamsters.

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    Liu, Yingjuan; Zhang, Jinhua; Liu, Dingzhen; Zhang, Jianxu

    2014-06-01

    Most studies support the viewpoint that the vomeronasal organ has a profound effect on conspecific odor recognition, scent marking and mating behavior in the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus). However, the role of the vomeronasal organ in social odor recognition, social interaction and fitness is not well understood. Therefore, we conducted a series of behavioral and physiological tests to examine the referred points in golden hamster. We found that male hamsters with vomeronasal organ lesion showed no preference between a predator odor (the anal gland secretion of the Siberian weasels (Mustela sibirica) and putative female pheromone components (myristic acid and palmitic acid), but were still able to discriminate between these 2 kinds of odors. In behavioral tests of anxiety, we found that vomeronasal organ removal causes female hamsters to spend much less time in center grids and to cross fewer center grids and males to make fewer crossings between light and dark boxes than sham-operated controls. This indicates that a chronic vomeronasal organ lesion induced anxious responses in females. In aggressive behavioral tests, we found that a chronic vomeronasal organ lesion decreased agonistic behavior in female hamsters but not in males. The pup growth and litter size show no differences between the 2 groups. All together, our data suggested that vomeronasal organ ablation disrupted the olfactory recognition of social chemosignals in males, and induced anxiety-like and aggressive behavior changes in females. However, a vomeronasal organ lesion did not affect the reproductive capacity and fitness of hamsters. Our studies may have important implications concerning the role of the vomeronasal organ in golden hamsters and also in rodents. © 2013 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  16. The vomeronasal complex of nocturnal strepsirhines and implications for the ancestral condition in primates.

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    Garrett, Eva C; Dennis, John C; Bhatnagar, Kunwar P; Durham, Emily L; Burrows, Anne M; Bonar, Christopher J; Steckler, Natalie K; Morrison, Edward E; Smith, Timothy D

    2013-12-01

    This study investigates the vomeronasal organ in extant nocturnal strepsirhines as a model for ancestral primates. Cadaveric samples from 10 strepsirhine species, ranging from fetal to adult ages, were studied histologically. Dimensions of structures in the vomeronasal complex, such as the vomeronasal neuroepithelium (VNNE) and vomeronasal cartilage (VNC) were measured in serial sections and selected specimens were studied immunohistochemically to determine physiological aspects of the vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs). Osteological features corresponding to vomeronasal structures were studied histologically and related to 3-D CT reconstructions. The VNC consistently rests in a depression on the palatal portion of the maxilla, which we refer to as the vomeronasal groove (VNG). Most age comparisons indicate that in adults VNNE is about twice the length compared with perinatal animals. In VNNE volume, adults are 2- to 3-fold larger compared with perinatal specimens. Across ages, a strong linear relationship exists between VNNE dimensions and body length, mass, and midfacial length. Results indicate that the VNNE of nocturnal strepsirhines is neurogenic postnatally based on GAP43 expression. In addition, based on Olfactory Marker Protein expression, terminally differentiated VSNs are present in the VNNE. Therefore, nocturnal strepsirhines have basic similarities to rodents in growth and maturational characteristics of VSNs. These results indicate that a functional vomeronasal system is likely present in all nocturnal strepsirhines. Finally, given that osteological features such as the VNG are visible on midfacial bones, primate fossils can be assessed to determine whether primate ancestors possessed a vomeronasal complex morphologically similar to that of modern nocturnal strepsirhines. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Modulates Vomeronasal Neuron Response to Male Salamander Pheromone

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    Celeste R. Wirsig-Wiechmann

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Electrophysiological studies have shown that gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH modifies chemosensory neurons responses to odors. We have previously demonstrated that male Plethodon shermani pheromone stimulates vomeronasal neurons in the female conspecific. In the present study we used agmatine uptake as a relative measure of the effects of GnRH on this pheromone-induced neural activation of vomeronasal neurons. Whole male pheromone extract containing 3 millimolar agmatine with or without 10 micromolar GnRH was applied to the nasolabial groove of female salamanders for 45 minutes. Immunocytochemical procedures were conducted to visualize and quantify relative agmatine uptake as measured by labeling density of activated vomeronasal neurons. The relative number of labeled neurons did not differ between the two groups: pheromone alone or pheromone-GnRH. However, vomeronasal neurons exposed to pheromone-GnRH collectively demonstrated higher labeling intensity, as a percentage above background (75% as compared with neurons exposed to pheromone alone (63%, P < 0.018. Since the labeling intensity of agmatine within neurons signifies the relative activity levels of the neurons, these results suggest that GnRH increases the response of female vomeronasal neurons to male pheromone.

  18. Effect of Vomeronasal Organ Removal From Male Mice on Their Preference for and Neural Fos Responses to Female Urinary Odors

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    Pankevich, Diana E.; Cherry, James A.; Baum, Michael J.

    2006-01-01

    Four experiments were conducted to determine whether vomeronasal organ (VNO) inputs in male mice mediate the rewarding properties of estrous female urinary odors. Sexually naive male mice with either an intact (VNOi) or lesioned (VNOx) VNO preferred to investigate female urine over water in Y-maze tests. Subsequently, VNOi males ran significantly more quickly and remained in nasal contact longer with estrous female urine than with male urine, whereas VNOx males investigated these odors equall...

  19. Intact calcium signaling in adrenergic-deficient embryonic mouse hearts.

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    Peoples, Jessica N; Taylor, David G; Katchman, Alexander N; Ebert, Steven N

    2018-01-22

    Mouse embryos that lack the ability to produce the adrenergic hormones, norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (EPI), due to disruption of the dopamine beta-hydroxylase (Dbh -/- ) gene inevitably perish from heart failure during mid-gestation. Since adrenergic stimulation is well-known to enhance calcium signaling in developing as well as adult myocardium, and impairments in calcium signaling are typically associated with heart failure, we hypothesized that adrenergic-deficient embryonic hearts would display deficiencies in cardiac calcium signaling relative to adrenergic-competent controls at a developmental stage immediately preceding the onset of heart failure, which first appears beginning or shortly after mouse embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5). To test this hypothesis, we used ratiometric fluorescent calcium imaging techniques to measure cytosolic calcium transients, [Ca 2+ ] i in isolated E10.5 mouse hearts. Our results show that spontaneous [Ca 2+ ] i oscillations were intact and robustly responded to a variety of stimuli including extracellular calcium (5 mM), caffeine (5 mM), and NE (100 nM) in a manner that was indistinguishable from controls. Further, we show similar patterns of distribution (via immunofluorescent histochemical staining) and activity (via patch-clamp recording techniques) for the major voltage-gated plasma membrane calcium channel responsible for the L-type calcium current, I Ca,L , in adrenergic-deficient and control embryonic cardiac cells. These results demonstrate that despite the absence of vital adrenergic hormones that consistently leads to embryonic lethality in vivo, intracellular and extracellular calcium signaling remain essentially intact and functional in embryonic mouse hearts through E10.5. These findings suggest that adrenergic stimulation is not required for the development of intracellular calcium oscillations or extracellular calcium signaling through I Ca,L and that aberrant calcium signaling does not likely contribute

  20. Connections of the corticomedial amygdala in the golden hamster. I. Efferents of the ''vomeronasal amygdala''

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kevetter, G.A.; Winans, S.S.

    1981-01-01

    The medial (M) an posteromedial cortical (C3) amygdaloid nuclei and the nucleus of the accessory olfactory tract (NAOT) are designated the ''vomeronasal amygdala'' because they are the only components of the amygdala to receive a direct projection from the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB). The efferents of M and C3 were traced after injections of 3 H-proline into the amygdala in male golden hamsters. Frozen sections of the brains were processed for autoradiography. The efferents of the ''vomeronasal amygdala'' are largely to areas which are primary and secondary terminal areas along the vomeronasal pathway, although the efferents from C3 and M terminate in different layers in these areas than do the projections from the vomeronasal nerve or the AOB. Specifically, C3 projects ipsilaterally to the internal granule cell layer of the AOB, the cellular layer of NAOT, and layer Ib of M. Additional fibers from C3 terminate in a retrocommissural component of the bed nucleus of the strain terminalis (BNST) bilaterally, and in the cellular layers of the contralateral C3. The medial nucleus projects to the cellular layer of the ipsilateral NAOT, layer Ib of C3, and bilaterally to the medial component of BNST. Projections from M to non-vomeronasal areas terminate in the medial preoptic area-anterior hypothalamic junction, ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus, ventral premammillary nucleus and possibly in the ventral subiculum. These results demonstrate reciprocal connections between primary and secondary vomeronasal areas between the secondary areas themselves. They suggest that M, but not C3, projects to areas outside this vomeronasal network. The medial amygdaloid nucleus is therefore an important link between the vomeronasal organ and areas of the brain not receiving direct vomeronasal input

  1. Male pheromone protein components activate female vomeronasal neurons in the salamander Plethodon shermani

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    Feldhoff Pamela W

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The mental gland pheromone of male Plethodon salamanders contains two main protein components: a 22 kDa protein named Plethodon Receptivity Factor (PRF and a 7 kDa protein named Plethodon Modulating Factor (PMF, respectively. Each protein component individually has opposing effects on female courtship behavior, with PRF shortening and PMF lengthening courtship. In this study, we test the hypothesis that PRF or PMF individually activate vomeronasal neurons. The agmatine-uptake technique was used to visualize chemosensory neurons that were activated by each protein component individually. Results Vomeronasal neurons exposed to agmatine in saline did not demonstrate significant labeling. However, a population of vomeronasal neurons was labeled following exposure to either PRF or PMF. When expressed as a percent of control level labeled cells, PRF labeled more neurons than did PMF. These percentages for PRF and PMF, added together, parallel the percentage of labeled vomeronasal neurons when females are exposed to the whole pheromone. Conclusion This study suggests that two specific populations of female vomeronasal neurons are responsible for responding to each of the two components of the male pheromone mixture. These two neural populations, therefore, could express different receptors which, in turn, transmit different information to the brain, thus accounting for the different female behavior elicited by each pheromone component.

  2. Fluorescent-protein stabilization and high-resolution imaging of cleared, intact mouse brains.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin K Schwarz

    Full Text Available In order to observe and quantify long-range neuronal connections in intact mouse brain by light microscopy, it is first necessary to clear the brain, thus suppressing refractive-index variations. Here we describe a method that clears the brain and preserves the signal from proteinaceous fluorophores using a pH-adjusted non-aqueous index-matching medium. Successful clearing is enabled through the use of either 1-propanol or tert-butanol during dehydration whilst maintaining a basic pH. We show that high-resolution fluorescence imaging of entire, structurally intact juvenile and adult mouse brains is possible at subcellular resolution, even following many months in clearing solution. We also show that axonal long-range projections that are EGFP-labelled by modified Rabies virus can be imaged throughout the brain using a purpose-built light-sheet fluorescence microscope. To demonstrate the viability of the technique, we determined a detailed map of the monosynaptic projections onto a target cell population in the lateral entorhinal cortex. This example demonstrates that our method permits the quantification of whole-brain connectivity patterns at the subcellular level in the uncut brain.

  3. The vomeronasal cortex - afferent and efferent projections of the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutiérrez-Castellanos, Nicolás; Pardo-Bellver, Cecília; Martínez-García, Fernando; Lanuza, Enrique

    2014-01-01

    Most mammals possess a vomeronasal system that detects predominantly chemical signals of biological relevance. Vomeronasal information is relayed to the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), whose unique cortical target is the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala. This cortical structure should therefore be considered the primary vomeronasal cortex. In the present work, we describe the afferent and efferent connections of the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala in female mice, using anterograde (biotinylated dextranamines) and retrograde (Fluorogold) tracers, and zinc selenite as a tracer specific for zinc-enriched (putative glutamatergic) projections. The results show that the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala is strongly interconnected not only with the rest of the vomeronasal system (AOB and its target structures in the amygdala), but also with the olfactory system (piriform cortex, olfactory-recipient nuclei of the amygdala and entorhinal cortex). Therefore, the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala probably integrates olfactory and vomeronasal information. In addition, the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala shows moderate interconnections with the associative (basomedial) amygdala and with the ventral hippocampus, which may be involved in emotional and spatial learning (respectively) induced by chemical signals. Finally, the posteromedial cortical nucleus of the amygdala gives rise to zinc-enriched projections to the ventrolateral septum and the ventromedial striatum (including the medial islands of Calleja). This pattern of intracortical connections (with the olfactory cortex and hippocampus, mainly) and cortico-striatal excitatory projections (with the olfactory tubercle and septum) is consistent with its proposed nature as the primary vomeronasal cortex. © 2013 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Sexual Dimorphism in Lori Sheep Vomeronasal Organ dimensions ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This experiment was carried out to study the effect of gender on anatomy of vomeronasal organ (VNO) and their correlations with some external body measurements in Lori sheep. Six external body characteristics were measured on 21 Lori sheep (10 ewes and 11 rams). Heads of the animals were collected and several ...

  5. Neurogenesis in the vomeronasal epithelium of adult garter snakes: 3. Use of 3H-thymidine autoradiography to trace the genesis and migration of bipolar neurons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, R.T.; Halpern, M.

    1988-01-01

    Use of 3H-thymidine autoradiography and unilateral vomeronasal (VN) axotomy has permitted us to demonstrate directly the existence of VN stem cells in the adult garter snake and to trace continuous bipolar neuron development and migration in the normal VN and deafferentated VN epithelium in the same animal. The vomeronasal epithelium and olfactory epithelium of adult garter snakes are both capable of incorporating 3H-thymidine. In the sensory epithelium of the vomeronasal organ, 3H-thymidine-labeled cells were initially restricted to the base of the undifferentiated cell layer in animals surviving 1 day following 3H-thymidine injection. With increasing survival time, labeled cells progressively migrated vertically within the receptor cell column toward the apex of the bipolar neuron layer. In both the normal and denervated VN epithelium, labeled cells were observed through the 56 days of postoperative survival. In the normal epithelium, labeled cells were always located within the matrix of the intact receptor cell columns. However, labeled cells of the denervated epithelium were always located at the apical front of the newly formed cell mass following depletion of the original neuronal cell population. In addition, at postoperative days 28 and 56, labeled cells of the denervated VN epithelium achieved neuronal differentiation and maturation by migrating much farther away from the base of the receptor cell column than the labeled cells on the normal, unoperated contralateral side. This study directly demonstrates that basal cells initially incorporating 3H-thymidine are indeed stem cells of the VN epithelium in adult garter snakes

  6. Synchronized Activity in The Main and Accessory Olfactory Bulbs and Vomeronasal Amygdala Elicited by Chemical Signals in Freely Behaving Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pardo-Bellver, Cecília; Martínez-Bellver, Sergio; Martínez-García, Fernando; Lanuza, Enrique; Teruel-Martí, Vicent

    2017-08-30

    Chemosensory processing in mammals involves the olfactory and vomeronasal systems, but how the activity of both circuits is integrated is unknown. In our study, we recorded the electrophysiological activity in the olfactory bulbs and the vomeronasal amygdala in freely behaving mice exploring a battery of neutral and conspecific stimuli. The exploration of stimuli, including a neutral stimulus, induced synchronic activity in the olfactory bulbs characterized by a dominant theta rhythmicity, with specific theta-gamma coupling, distinguishing between vomeronasal and olfactory structures. The correlated activation of the bulbs suggests a coupling between the stimuli internalization in the nasal cavity and the vomeronasal pumping. In the amygdala, male stimuli are preferentially processed in the medial nucleus, whereas female cues induced a differential response in the posteromedial cortical amygdala. Thus, particular theta-gamma patterns in the olfactory network modulates the integration of chemosensory information in the amygdala, allowing the selection of an appropriate behaviour.

  7. Transposition and Intermingling of Galphai2 and Galphao afferences into single vomeronasal glomeruli in the Madagascan lesser Tenrec Echinops telfairi.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Suárez

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available The vomeronasal system (VNS mediates pheromonal communication in mammals. From the vomeronasal organ, two populations of sensory neurons, expressing either Galphai2 or Galphao proteins, send projections that end in glomeruli distributed either at the rostral or caudal half of the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB, respectively. Neurons at the AOB contact glomeruli of a single subpopulation. The dichotomic segregation of AOB glomeruli has been described in opossums, rodents and rabbits, while Primates and Laurasiatheres present the Galphai2-pathway only, or none at all (such as apes, some bats and aquatic species. We studied the AOB of the Madagascan lesser tenrec Echinops telfairi (Afrotheria: Afrosoricida and found that Galphai2 and Galphao proteins are expressed in rostral and caudal glomeruli, respectively. However, the segregation of vomeronasal glomeruli at the AOB is not exclusive, as both pathways contained some glomeruli transposed into the adjoining subdomain. Moreover, some glomeruli seem to contain intermingled afferences from both pathways. Both the transposition and heterogeneity of vomeronasal afferences are features, to our knowledge, never reported before. The organization of AOB glomeruli suggests that synaptic integration might occur at the glomerular layer. Whether intrinsic AOB neurons may make synaptic contact with axon terminals of both subpopulations is an interesting possibility that would expand our understanding about the integration of vomeronasal pathways.

  8. Deterioration of the Gαo vomeronasal pathway in sexually dimorphic mammals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Suárez

    Full Text Available In mammals, social and sexual behaviours are largely mediated by the vomeronasal system (VNS. The accessory olfactory bulb (AOB is the first synaptic locus of the VNS and ranges from very large in Caviomorph rodents, small in carnivores and ungulates, to its complete absence in apes, elephants, most bats and aquatic species. Two pathways have been described in the VNS of mammals. In mice, vomeronasal neurons expressing Gαi2 protein project to the rostral portion of the AOB and respond mostly to small volatile molecules, whereas neurons expressing Gαo project to the caudal AOB and respond mostly to large non-volatile molecules. However, the Gαo-expressing pathway is absent in several species (horses, dogs, musk shrews, goats and marmosets but no hypotheses have been proposed to date to explain the loss of that pathway. We noted that the species that lost the Gαo pathway belong to Laurasiatheria and Primates lineages, both clades with ubiquitous sexual dimorphisms across species. To assess whether similar events of Gαo pathway loss could have occurred convergently in dimorphic species we studied G-protein expression in the AOB of two species that independently evolved sexually dimorphic traits: the California ground squirrel Spermophilus beecheyi (Rodentia; Sciurognathi and the cape hyrax Procavia capensis (Afrotheria; Hyracoidea. We found that both species show uniform expression of Gαi2-protein throughout AOB glomeruli, while Gαo expression is restricted to main olfactory glomeruli only. Our results suggest that the degeneration of the Gαo-expressing vomeronasal pathway has occurred independently at least four times in Eutheria, possibly related to the emergence of sexual dimorphisms and the ability of detecting the gender of conspecifics at distance.

  9. Intact fetal ovarian cord formation promotes mouse oocyte survival and development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pera Renee

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Female reproductive potential, or the ability to propagate life, is limited in mammals with the majority of oocytes lost before birth. In mice, surviving perinatal oocytes are enclosed in ovarian follicles for subsequent oocyte development and function in the adult. Before birth, fetal germ cells of both sexes develop in clusters, or germline cysts, in the undifferentiated gonad. Upon sex determination of the fetal gonad, germ cell cysts become organized into testicular or ovarian cord-like structures and begin to interact with gonadal somatic cells. Although germline cysts and testicular cords are required for spermatogenesis, the role of cyst and ovarian cord formation in mammalian oocyte development and female fertility has not been determined. Results Here, we examine whether intact fetal ovarian germ and somatic cell cord structures are required for oocyte development using mouse gonad re-aggregation and transplantation to disrupt gonadal organization. We observed that germ cells from disrupted female gonad prior to embryonic day e13.5 completed prophase I of meiosis but did not survive following transplantation. Furthermore, re-aggregated ovaries from e13.5 to e15.5 developed with a reduced number of oocytes. Oocyte loss occurred before follicle formation and was associated with an absence of ovarian cord structure and ovary disorganization. However, disrupted ovaries from e16.5 or later were resistant to the re-aggregation impairment and supported robust oocyte survival and development in follicles. Conclusions Thus, we demonstrate a critical window of oocyte development from e13.5 to e16.5 in the intact fetal mouse ovary, corresponding to the establishment of ovarian cord structure, which promotes oocyte interaction with neighboring ovarian somatic granulosa cells before birth and imparts oocytes with competence to survive and develop in follicles. Because germline cyst and ovarian cord structures are conserved in the

  10. Purification and characterization of a chemoattractant from electric shock-induced earthworm secretion, its receptor binding, and signal transduction through the vomeronasal system of garter snakes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, X C; Inouchi, J; Wang, D; Halpern, M

    1990-05-25

    Following shocks with low voltage electric current, earthworms, Lumbricus terrestris, secrete a yellow mucus that has alarm properties for conspecifics and chemoattractive properties for garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis. A proteinaceous chemoattractant for garter snakes has been isolated and purified to homogeneity from such secretions by means of permeation chromatography and semipreparative nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified protein is highly attractive to garter snakes; it loses its activity after proteolytic digestion. It is a glycoprotein consisting of a single polypeptide chain with an NH2-terminal alanine. This chemoattractant has a minimum molecular mass of 15.4 kDa calculated from its amino acid and carbohydrate contents and an apparent molecular mass of about 20 kDa as estimated from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It has a pI of about 4.0, and it binds wheat germ agglutinin but not concanavalin A. This chemoattractant shows a protein to carbohydrate ratio of 2.0 +/- 0.08 (n = 5) and a ratio of total sugar to amino sugar of 1.9 +/- 0.08 (n = 3). The sequence of its NH2-terminal 15 amino acid residues has been determined. Studies were also conducted on the chemosignal transduction through the vomeronasal sensory system of the garter snake. Dot blot analysis showed that the purified chemoattractant bound to snake vomeronasal sensory epithelial membrane fractions. It did not bind to membrane extracts of the nonsensory epithelium of the vomeronasal mushroom body. The chemoattractant also bound specifically to vomeronasal sensory epithelial membrane in a reversible and saturable fashion with Kd and Bmax values of about 0.3 microM and 0.4 nmol/mg of protein, respectively. In electrophysiological studies, the chemoattractant applied to the vomeronasal epithelium caused an increase in firing rate of individual neurons in the accessory olfactory bulb of garter snakes, the projection site for vomeronasal

  11. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-PTRO-04-0004 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-PTRO-04-0004 sp|Q8VBS7|VN1A6_MOUSE Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A6 (Vomeronasal... type-1 receptor A3) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A1) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A10) dbj|BAB79209.1| vomeronasa...l receptor 1 A1 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79210.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A3 [Mus musculus] gb|AAK98772.1| vomeronasa

  12. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0256 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0256 ref|NP_444458.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B7 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EQ46|VN1B7_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor B7 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A11) gb|AAG42087.1|AF291493_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RB7 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79217.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A11 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41627.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, B7 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40251.1| Vomeronasal

  13. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0238 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0238 ref|NP_444458.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B7 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EQ46|VN1B7_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor B7 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A11) gb|AAG42087.1|AF291493_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RB7 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79217.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A11 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41627.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, B7 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40251.1| Vomeronasal

  14. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0122 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0122 ref|NP_444458.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B7 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EQ46|VN1B7_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor B7 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A11) gb|AAG42087.1|AF291493_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RB7 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79217.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A11 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41627.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, B7 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40251.1| Vomeronasal

  15. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-OCUN-01-1141 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-OCUN-01-1141 ref|NP_444458.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B7 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EQ46|VN1B7_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor B7 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A11) gb|AAG42087.1|AF291493_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RB7 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79217.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A11 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41627.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, B7 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40251.1| Vomeronasal

  16. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0135 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0135 ref|NP_444458.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B7 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EQ46|VN1B7_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor B7 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A11) gb|AAG42087.1|AF291493_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RB7 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79217.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A11 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41627.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, B7 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40251.1| Vomeronasal

  17. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0259 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0259 ref|NP_444458.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B7 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EQ46|VN1B7_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor B7 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A11) gb|AAG42087.1|AF291493_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RB7 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79217.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A11 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41627.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, B7 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40251.1| Vomeronasal

  18. The terminal nerve plays a prominent role in GnRH-1 neuronal migration independent from proper olfactory and vomeronasal connections to the olfactory bulbs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ed Zandro M. Taroc

    2017-10-01

    Yoshihara et al., 2005. Our data prove that correct development of the OBs and axonal connection of the olfactory/vomeronasal sensory neurons to the forebrain are not required for GnRH-1 ns migration, and suggest that the terminal nerve, which forms the GnRH-1 migratory scaffold, follows different guidance cues and differs in gene expression from olfactory/vomeronasal sensory neurons.

  19. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-2626 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-2626 sp|Q8VBS7|VN1A6_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A...6; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A3; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A1; AltName: Full=Vomeronasa...l type-1 receptor A10 dbj|BAB79209.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A1 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79210.1| vomeronasa...l receptor 1 A3 [Mus musculus] gb|AAK98772.1| vomeronasal receptor V1RA10

  20. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0131 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0131 ref|NP_444459.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B8 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EQ45|VN1B8_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor B8 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A13) gb|AAG42088.1|AF291494_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RB8 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79220.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A13 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI40252.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, B8 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99274.1| vomeronasal ...1 receptor, B8 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI46525.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, B8 [synthetic construct] NP_444459.1 1e-175 100% ...

  1. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0135 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0135 ref|NP_444455.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EP51|VN1B1_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor B1 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A5) (Vomeronasal receptor 2) (Ph...eromone receptor VN2) gb|AAG42083.1|AF291489_1 vomeronasal receptor V1RB1 [Mus musculus] gb|AAG43248.1| VN2 ...[Mus musculus] gb|AAI07184.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] gb|EDK99276.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] NP_444455.1 1e-139 80% ...

  2. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0136 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0136 ref|NP_444455.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EP51|VN1B1_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor B1 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A5) (Vomeronasal receptor 2) (Ph...eromone receptor VN2) gb|AAG42083.1|AF291489_1 vomeronasal receptor V1RB1 [Mus musculus] gb|AAG43248.1| VN2 ...[Mus musculus] gb|AAI07184.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] gb|EDK99276.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] NP_444455.1 1e-175 100% ...

  3. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-OCUN-01-0928 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-OCUN-01-0928 ref|NP_444448.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EQ52|VN1A3_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A3 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A6) gb|AAG42076.1|AF291482_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RA3 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79212.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A6 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41612.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40226.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] NP_444448.1 1e-81 52% ...

  4. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-OCUN-01-0428 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-OCUN-01-0428 ref|NP_444448.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EQ52|VN1A3_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A3 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A6) gb|AAG42076.1|AF291482_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RA3 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79212.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A6 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41612.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40226.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] NP_444448.1 2e-82 51% ...

  5. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-OCUN-01-0645 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-OCUN-01-0645 ref|NP_444455.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EP51|VN1B1_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor B1 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A5) (Vomeronasal receptor 2) (Ph...eromone receptor VN2) gb|AAG42083.1|AF291489_1 vomeronasal receptor V1RB1 [Mus musculus] gb|AAG43248.1| VN2 ...[Mus musculus] gb|AAI07184.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] gb|EDK99276.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] NP_444455.1 3e-46 53% ...

  6. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-CPOR-01-0933 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-CPOR-01-0933 ref|NP_444448.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EQ52|VN1A3_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A3 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A6) gb|AAG42076.1|AF291482_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RA3 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79212.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A6 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41612.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40226.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] NP_444448.1 7e-78 52% ...

  7. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0143 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0143 ref|NP_444448.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EQ52|VN1A3_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A3 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A6) gb|AAG42076.1|AF291482_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RA3 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79212.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A6 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41612.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40226.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] NP_444448.1 4e-85 55% ...

  8. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0141 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0141 ref|NP_444455.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9EP51|VN1B1_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor B1 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A5) (Vomeronasal receptor 2) (Ph...eromone receptor VN2) gb|AAG42083.1|AF291489_1 vomeronasal receptor V1RB1 [Mus musculus] gb|AAG43248.1| VN2 ...[Mus musculus] gb|AAI07184.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] gb|EDK99276.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] NP_444455.1 1e-135 78% ...

  9. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-CPOR-01-1147 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-CPOR-01-1147 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8VIC7|VN1A2_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A2 (Pheromone receptor 2) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9) (mV1R...2) dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synth...etic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasa

  10. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-CPOR-01-0933 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-CPOR-01-0933 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8VIC7|VN1A2_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A2 (Pheromone receptor 2) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9) (mV1R...2) dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synth...etic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasa

  11. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0130 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0130 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8VIC7|VN1A2_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A2 (Pheromone receptor 2) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9) (mV1R...2) dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synth...etic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasa

  12. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-1973 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-1973 ref|NP_444458.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B7 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9E...Q46|VN1B7_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B7; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A11 ...gb|AAG42087.1|AF291493_1 vomeronasal receptor V1RB7 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79217.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A1...1 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41627.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, B7 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40251.1| Vomeronasa

  13. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-PABE-04-0003 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-PABE-04-0003 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8VIC7|VN1A2_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A2 (Pheromone receptor 2) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9) (mV1R...2) dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synth...etic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasa

  14. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-OCUN-01-1001 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-OCUN-01-1001 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8VIC7|VN1A2_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A2 (Pheromone receptor 2) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9) (mV1R...2) dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synth...etic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasa

  15. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-1277 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-1277 ref|NP_444448.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9E...Q52|VN1A3_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A3; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A6 g...b|AAG42076.1|AF291482_1 vomeronasal receptor V1RA3 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79212.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A6 ...[Mus musculus] gb|AAI41612.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40226.1| Vomeronasa

  16. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0137 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0137 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8VIC7|VN1A2_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A2 (Pheromone receptor 2) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9) (mV1R...2) dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synth...etic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasa

  17. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-2495 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-2495 ref|NP_444448.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9E...Q52|VN1A3_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A3; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A6 g...b|AAG42076.1|AF291482_1 vomeronasal receptor V1RA3 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79212.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A6 ...[Mus musculus] gb|AAI41612.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40226.1| Vomeronasa

  18. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-2240 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-2240 ref|NP_444448.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9E...Q52|VN1A3_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A3; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A6 g...b|AAG42076.1|AF291482_1 vomeronasal receptor V1RA3 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79212.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A6 ...[Mus musculus] gb|AAI41612.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40226.1| Vomeronasa

  19. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0241 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0241 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8VIC7|VN1A2_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A2 (Pheromone receptor 2) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9) (mV1R...2) dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synth...etic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasa

  20. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-2627 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-2627 ref|NP_444448.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9E...Q52|VN1A3_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A3; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A6 g...b|AAG42076.1|AF291482_1 vomeronasal receptor V1RA3 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79212.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A6 ...[Mus musculus] gb|AAI41612.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A3 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40226.1| Vomeronasa

  1. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-CPOR-01-1167 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-CPOR-01-1167 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8VIC7|VN1A2_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A2 (Pheromone receptor 2) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9) (mV1R...2) dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synth...etic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasa

  2. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0138 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0138 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8VIC7|VN1A2_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A2 (Pheromone receptor 2) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9) (mV1R...2) dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synth...etic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasa

  3. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-06-0124 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0124 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8VIC7|VN1A2_MOUSE Vomeronas...al type-1 receptor A2 (Pheromone receptor 2) (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9) (mV1R...2) dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synth...etic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasa

  4. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-2691 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-2691 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8V...IC7|VN1A2_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A2; Short=mV1R2; AltName: Full=Pheromone receptor ...2; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9 dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] NP_035814.2 1e-74 49% ...

  5. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-2568 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-2568 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8V...IC7|VN1A2_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A2; Short=mV1R2; AltName: Full=Pheromone receptor ...2; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9 dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] NP_035814.2 5e-49 53% ...

  6. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-2291 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-2291 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8V...IC7|VN1A2_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A2; Short=mV1R2; AltName: Full=Pheromone receptor ...2; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9 dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] NP_035814.2 1e-79 50% ...

  7. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-0474 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-0474 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8V...IC7|VN1A2_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A2; Short=mV1R2; AltName: Full=Pheromone receptor ...2; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9 dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] NP_035814.2 7e-81 53% ...

  8. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-0722 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-0722 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8V...IC7|VN1A2_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A2; Short=mV1R2; AltName: Full=Pheromone receptor ...2; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9 dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] NP_035814.2 7e-65 49% ...

  9. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-2741 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-2741 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8V...IC7|VN1A2_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A2; Short=mV1R2; AltName: Full=Pheromone receptor ...2; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9 dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] NP_035814.2 7e-83 53% ...

  10. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-2574 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-2574 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8V...IC7|VN1A2_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A2; Short=mV1R2; AltName: Full=Pheromone receptor ...2; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9 dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] NP_035814.2 2e-85 52% ...

  11. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-0161 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-0161 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8V...IC7|VN1A2_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A2; Short=mV1R2; AltName: Full=Pheromone receptor ...2; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9 dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] NP_035814.2 3e-84 52% ...

  12. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-2502 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-2502 ref|NP_035814.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] sp|Q8V...IC7|VN1A2_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A2; Short=mV1R2; AltName: Full=Pheromone receptor ...2; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A9 dbj|BAB79214.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 A9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41637.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|AAI40265.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, A2 [synthetic construct] gb|EDK99273.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, A2 [Mus musculus] NP_035814.2 5e-70 49% ...

  13. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-2305 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-2305 ref|NP_444455.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9E...P51|VN1B1_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B1; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A5; AltName: Full=Vomeronasa...l receptor 2; AltName: Full=Pheromone receptor VN2 gb|AAG42083.1|AF291489_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RB1 [Mus musculus] gb|AAG43248.1| VN2 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI07184.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] gb|EDK99276.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] NP_444455.1 8e-64 55% ...

  14. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-STRI-01-1937 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-STRI-01-1937 ref|NP_444455.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] sp|Q9E...P51|VN1B1_MOUSE RecName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B1; AltName: Full=Vomeronasal type-1 receptor A5; AltName: Full=Vomeronasa...l receptor 2; AltName: Full=Pheromone receptor VN2 gb|AAG42083.1|AF291489_1 vomeronasa...l receptor V1RB1 [Mus musculus] gb|AAG43248.1| VN2 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI07184.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] gb|EDK99276.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B1 [Mus musculus] NP_444455.1 2e-25 41% ...

  15. Morphological, histochemical and computed tomography on the vomeronasal organ (Jacobson’s organ of Egyptian native breeds of goats (Capra hircus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Usama Kamal Moawad

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: The vomeronasal organ (Jacobson’s organ is a chemosensory paired tubular organ located on both sides of the nasal septum at its base. It plays an essential role in reproduction process and social behaviors. Objective: The current study investigated both anatomical and histological structure of the vomeronasal organ (VNO in Egyptian native breeds of goats using cross sectional anatomy, histological techniques and computed tomography (CT. Methodology: A total of thirty heads obtained from adult and apparently healthy goats of both sexes were collected from Beni-Suef slaughterhouse in Beni-Suef province, Egypt then subjected to anatomical, histological and computed topographical studies. Results: Grossly, the VNO appeared as two blind ducts on the either sides of the nasal septum at the floor of nasal cavity extending from the nasal opening of incisive papilla rostrally to the upper 2nd premolar teeth caudally. It connected with mouth by two nasopalatine ducts. The histological examinations revealed two types of lining epithelium; non sensory type lining the cranial portion and the lateral wall of the middle portion of the vomeronasal duct (VND, whereas an olfactory type was the lining epithelium of the medial wall of the middle and the whole caudal portions. The lamina propria submucosa exhibited vascular loose connective tissues, serous glands, nerve bundles and encapsulated by hyaline cartilage. Conclusion: The obtaining olfactory epithelium in VNO may indicate an essential role of this organ in sexual relationships and sociosexual behaviors through perception of pheromones.

  16. Localization of α1-2 Fucose Glycan in the Mouse Olfactory Pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kondoh, Daisuke; Kamikawa, Akihiro; Sasaki, Motoki; Kitamura, Nobuo

    2017-01-01

    Glycoconjugates in the olfactory system play critical roles in neuronal formation, and α1-2 fucose (α1-2Fuc) glycan mediates neurite outgrowth and synaptic plasticity. Histochemical findings of α1-2Fuc glycan in the mouse olfactory system detected using Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I) vary. This study histochemically assessed the main olfactory and vomeronasal pathways in male and female ICR and C57BL/6J mice aged 3-4 months using UEA-I. Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I reacted with most receptor cells arranged mainly at the basal region of the olfactory epithelium. The olfactory nerve layer and glomerular layer of the main olfactory bulb were speckled with positive UEA-I staining, and positive fibers were scattered from the glomerular to the internal plexiform layer. The lateral olfactory tract and rostral migratory stream were also positive for UEA-I. We identified superficial short-axon cells, interneurons of the external plexiform layer, external, middle and internal tufted cells, mitral cells and granule cells as the origins of the UEA-I-positive fibers in the main olfactory bulb. The anterior olfactory nucleus, anterior piriform cortex and olfactory tubercle were negative for UEA-I. Most receptor cells in the vomeronasal epithelium and most glomeruli of the accessory olfactory bulb were positive for UEA-I. Our findings indicated that α1-2Fuc glycan is located within the primary and secondary, but not the ternary, pathways of the main olfactory system, in local circuits of the main olfactory bulb and within the primary, but not secondary, pathway of the vomeronasal system. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  17. Non-intact zona improves development of murine preimplantation ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ajl5

    2012-09-25

    Sep 25, 2012 ... 2College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, ... Key words: Mouse, non-intact zona embryos, adenovirus vector with green fluorescent protein (pAd-GFP), .... Based on microscopic examination, the ZP of some ..... permeable structure of ZP that allowed penetration of.

  18. Colocalization properties of elementary Ca(2+) release signals with structures specific to the contractile filaments and the tubular system of intact mouse skeletal muscle fibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georgiev, Tihomir; Zapiec, Bolek; Förderer, Moritz; Fink, Rainer H A; Vogel, Martin

    2015-12-01

    Ca(2+) regulates several important intracellular processes. We combined second harmonic generation (SHG) and two photon excited fluorescence microscopy (2PFM) to simultaneously record the SHG signal of the myosin filaments and localized elementary Ca(2+) release signals (LCSs). We found LCSs associated with Y-shaped structures of the myosin filament pattern (YMs), so called verniers, in intact mouse skeletal muscle fibers under hypertonic treatment. Ion channels crucial for the Ca(2+) regulation are located in the tubular system, a system that is important for Ca(2+) regulation and excitation-contraction coupling. We investigated the tubular system of intact, living mouse skeletal muscle fibers using 2PFM and the fluorescent Ca(2+) indicator Fluo-4 dissolved in the external solution or the membrane dye di-8-ANEPPS. We simultaneously measured the SHG signal from the myosin filaments of the skeletal muscle fibers. We found that at least a subset of the YMs observed in SHG images are closely juxtaposed with Y-shaped structures of the transverse tubules (YTs). The distances of corresponding YMs and YTs yield values between 1.3 μm and 4.1 μm including pixel uncertainty with a mean distance of 2.52±0.10 μm (S.E.M., n=41). Additionally, we observed that some of the linear-shaped areas in the tubular system are colocalized with linear-shaped areas in the SHG images. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. El sistema vomeronasal y su posible funcionalidad en larvas de anuros

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pozzi, Andrea Gabriela

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available El sistema vomeronasal (SVN es un sistema olfatorio accesorio presente en la mayoría de los tetrápodos. Clásicamente se lo ha asociado con el paso de los vertebrados al ambiente terrestre; sin embargo las evidencias surgidas en los últimos años indican que el SVN apareció tempranamente en la evolución de los tetrápodos y sería funcional en ambientes acuáticos. Este sistema sensorial ha sido descripto en etapas larvales de anuros. Pero ¿es funcional el SVN en renacuajos? No existen experimentos en donde se evalúe la participación del SVN en la quimiodetección en renacuajos. Sin embargo, un número considerable de evidencias indican que este sistema sensorial podría ser funcional en larvas de anuros: 1 El órgano vomeronasal (OVN aparece durante el desarrollo embrionario y está presente durante toda la etapa larval. 2 El OVN contiene neuronas bipolares cuyos axones proyectan al bulbo olfatorio accesorio (BOA donde establecen conexiones sinápticas con neuronas telencefálicas. 3 Las neuronas del OVN expresan los receptores de membrana descriptos en tetrápodos, así como la proteína G involucrada en la señalización intracelular. 4 Los análisis de microscopía electrónica demuestran que el OVN posee neuronas con microvellosidades apicales como se describe para otros grupos y sus características ultraestructurales no se modifican durante la metamorfosis. Más aún, no hay diferencias en la ultraestructura de las conexiones sinápticas entre larvas y adultos a nivel del BOA. Los renacuajos presentan una gran cantidad de comportamientos mediados por quimiodetección. Conocer si el SVN participa en la detección de alguno/s de estos estímulos ayudaría no sólo a dilucidar aspectos relacionados con la comunicación química y el comportamiento en renacuajos sino también a comprender aspectos evolutivos de los sistemas quimiosensoriales en vertebrados.

  20. A candidate subspecies discrimination system involving a vomeronasal receptor gene with different alleles fixed in M. m. domesticus and M. m. musculus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert C Karn

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Assortative mating, a potentially efficient prezygotic reproductive barrier, may prevent loss of genetic potential by avoiding the production of unfit hybrids (i.e., because of hybrid infertility or hybrid breakdown that occur at regions of secondary contact between incipient species. In the case of the mouse hybrid zone, where two subspecies of Mus musculus (M. m. domesticus and M. m. musculus meet and exchange genes to a limited extent, assortative mating requires a means of subspecies recognition. We based the work reported here on the hypothesis that, if there is a pheromone sufficiently diverged between M. m. domesticus and M. m. musculus to mediate subspecies recognition, then that process must also require a specific receptor(s, also sufficiently diverged between the subspecies, to receive the signal and elicit an assortative mating response. We studied the mouse V1R genes, which encode a large family of receptors in the vomeronasal organ (VNO, by screening Perlegen SNP data and identified one, Vmn1r67, with 24 fixed SNP differences most of which (15/24 are nonsynonymous nucleotide substitutions between M. m. domesticus and M. m. musculus. We observed substantial linkage disequilibrium (LD between Vmn1r67 and Abpa27, a mouse salivary androgen-binding protein gene that encodes a proteinaceous pheromone (ABP capable of mediating assortative mating, perhaps in conjunction with its bound small lipophilic ligand. The LD we observed is likely a case of association rather than residual physical linkage from a very recent selective sweep, because an intervening gene, Vmn1r71, shows significant intra(subspecific polymorphism but no inter(subspecific divergence in its nucleotide sequence. We discuss alternative explanations of these observations, for example that Abpa27 and Vmn1r67 are coevolving as signal and receptor to reinforce subspecies hybridization barriers or that the unusually divergent Vmn1r67 allele was not a product of fast positive

  1. Isolation, culture and adenoviral transduction of parietal cells from mouse gastric mucosa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gliddon, Briony L; Nguyen, Nhung V; Gunn, Priscilla A; Gleeson, Paul A; Driel, Ian R van

    2008-01-01

    Here we describe a method for the isolation of intact gastric glands from mice and primary culture and transfection of mouse gastric epithelial cells. Collagenase digestion of PBS-perfused mouse stomachs released large intact gastric glands that were plated on a basement membrane matrix. The heterogeneous gland cell cultures typically contain ∼60% parietal cells. Isolated mouse parietal cells remain viable in culture for up to 5 days and react strongly with an antibody specific to the gastric H + /K + ATPase. Isolated intact mouse gastric glands and primary cultures of mouse parietal cells respond to the secretagogue, histamine. Typical morphological changes from a resting to an acid-secreting active parietal cell were observed. In resting cultures of mouse parietal cells, the H + /K + ATPase displayed a cytoplasmic punctate staining pattern consistent with tubulovesicle element structures. Following histamine stimulation, an expansion of internal apical vacuole structures was observed together with a pronounced redistribution of the H + /K + ATPase from the cytoplasm to the apical vacuoles. A reproducible procedure to express genes of interest exogenously in these cultures of mouse parietal cells was also established. This method combines recombinant adenoviral transduction with magnetic field-assisted transfection resulting in ∼30% transduced parietal cells. Adenoviral-transduced parietal cells maintain their ability to undergo agonist-induced activation. This protocol will be useful for the isolation, culture and expression of genes in parietal cells from genetically modified mice and as such will be an invaluable tool for studying the complex exocytic and endocytic trafficking events of the H + /K + ATPase which underpin the regulation of acid secretion

  2. From sexual attraction to maternal aggression: when pheromones change their behavioural significance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martín-Sánchez, Ana; McLean, Lynn; Beynon, Robert J; Hurst, Jane L; Ayala, Guillermo; Lanuza, Enrique; Martínez-Garcia, Fernando

    2015-02-01

    This article is part of a Special Issue "Chemosignals and Reproduction". This paper reviews the role of chemosignals in the socio-sexual interactions of female mice, and reports two experiments testing the role of pup-derived chemosignals and the male sexual pheromone darcin in inducing and promoting maternal aggression. Female mice are attracted to urine-borne male pheromones. Volatile and non-volatile urine fractions have been proposed to contain olfactory and vomeronasal pheromones. In particular, the male-specific major urinary protein (MUP) MUP20, darcin, has been shown to be rewarding and attractive to females. Non-urinary male chemosignals, such as the lacrimal protein ESP1, promote lordosis in female mice, but its attractive properties are still to be tested. There is evidence indicating that ESP1 and MUPs are detected by vomeronasal type 2 receptors (V2R). When a female mouse becomes pregnant, she undergoes dramatic changes in her physiology and behaviour. She builds a nest for her pups and takes care of them. Dams also defend the nest against conspecific intruders, attacking especially gonadally intact males. Maternal behaviour is dependent on a functional olfactory system, thus suggesting a role of chemosignals in the development of maternal behaviour. Our first experiment demonstrates, however, that pup chemosignals are not sufficient to induce maternal aggression in virgin females. In addition, it is known that vomeronasal stimuli are needed for maternal aggression. Since MUPs (and other molecules) are able to promote intermale aggression, in our second experiment we test if the attractive MUP darcin also promotes attacks on castrated male intruders by lactating dams. Our findings demonstrate that the same chemosignal, darcin, promotes attraction or aggression according to female reproductive state. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Analysis of 16S libraries of mouse gastrointestinal microflora reveals a large new group of mouse intestinal bacteria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Salzman, NH; de Jong, H; Paterson, Y; Harmsen, HJM; Welling, GW; Bos, NA

    2002-01-01

    Total genomic DNA from samples of intact mouse small intestine, large intestine, caecum and faeces was used as template for PCR amplification of 16S rRNA gene sequences with conserved bacterial primers. Phylogenetic analysis of the amplification products revealed 40 unique 16S rDNA sequences. Of

  4. A method to detect transfected chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene expression in intact animals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Narayanan, R.; Jastreboff, M.M.; Chiu, Chang Fang; Ito, Etsuro; Bertino, J.R.

    1988-01-01

    A rapid procedure is described for assaying chloramphenicol acetyltransferase enzyme activity in intact animals following transfection of the RSV CAT plasmid into mouse bone marrow cells by electroporation. The reconstituted mice were injected with [ 14 C]chloramphenicol and ethyl acetate extracts of 24-h urine samples were analyzed by TLC autoradiography for the excretion of 14 C-labeled metabolites. CAT expression in vivo can be detected by the presence of acetylated 14 C-labeled metabolites in the urine within 1 week after bone marrow transplantation and, under the conditions described, these metabolites can be detected for at least 3 months. CAT expression in intact mice as monitored by the urine assay correlates with the CAT expression in the hematopoietic tissues assayed in vitro. This method offers a quick mode of screening for introduced CAT gene expression in vivo without sacrificing the mice

  5. Refining the dual olfactory hypothesis: pheromone reward and odour experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-García, Fernando; Martínez-Ricós, Joana; Agustín-Pavón, Carmen; Martínez-Hernández, Jose; Novejarque, Amparo; Lanuza, Enrique

    2009-06-25

    In rodents, sexual advertisement and gender recognition are mostly (if not exclusively) mediated by chemosignals. Specifically, there is ample evidence indicating that female mice are 'innately' attracted by male sexual pheromones that have critical non-volatile components and are detected by the vomeronasal organ. These pheromones can only get access to the vomeronasal organ by active pumping mechanisms that require close contact with the source of the stimulus (e.g. urine marks) during chemoinvestigation. We have hypothesised that male sexual pheromones are rewarding to female mice. Indeed, male-soiled bedding can be used as a reinforcer to induce conditioned place preference, provided contact with the bedding is allowed. The neural mechanisms of pheromone reward seem, however, different from those employed by other natural reinforcers, such as the sweetness or postingestive effects of sucrose. In contrast to vomeronasal-detected male sexual pheromones, male-derived olfactory stimuli (volatiles) are not intrinsically attractive to female mice. However, after repeated exposure to male-soiled bedding, intact female mice develop an acquired preference for male odours. On the contrary, in females whose accessory olfactory bulbs have been lesioned, exposure to male-soiled bedding induces aversion to male odorants. These considerations, together with data on the different properties of olfactory and vomeronasal receptors, lead us to make a proposal for the complementary roles that the olfactory and vomeronasal systems play in intersexual attraction and in other forms of intra- or inter-species communication.

  6. NIH mouse study finds gut microorganisms may determine cancer treatment outcome

    Science.gov (United States)

    An intact gut commensal microbiota, which is a population of microorganisms living in the intestine, is required for optimal response to cancer therapy, according to a mouse study by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI)

  7. Effect of temperature on crossbridge force changes during fatigue and recovery in intact mouse muscle fibers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Nocella

    Full Text Available Repetitive or prolonged muscle contractions induce muscular fatigue, defined as the inability of the muscle to maintain the initial tension or power output. In the present experiments, made on intact fiber bundles from FDB mouse, fatigue and recovery from fatigue were investigated at 24°C and 35°C. Force and stiffness were measured during tetani elicited every 90 s during the pre-fatigue control phase and recovery and every 1.5 s during the fatiguing phase made of 105 consecutive tetani. The results showed that force decline could be split in an initial phase followed by a later one. Loss of force during the first phase was smaller and slower at 35°C than at 24°C, whereas force decline during the later phase was greater at 35°C so that total force depression at the end of fatigue was the same at both temperatures. The initial force decline occurred without great reduction of fiber stiffness and was attributed to a decrease of the average force per attached crossbridge. Force decline during the later phase was accompanied by a proportional stiffness decrease and was attributed to a decrease of the number of attached crossbridge. Similarly to fatigue, at both 24 and 35°C, force recovery occurred in two phases: the first associated with the recovery of the average force per attached crossbridge and the second due to the recovery of the pre-fatigue attached crossbridge number. These changes, symmetrical to those occurring during fatigue, are consistent with the idea that, i initial phase is due to the direct fast inhibitory effect of [Pi]i increase during fatigue on crossbridge force; ii the second phase is due to the delayed reduction of Ca(2+ release and /or reduction of the Ca(2+ sensitivity of the myofibrils due to high [Pi]i.

  8. Variations in Local Calcium Signaling in Adjacent Cardiac Myocytes of the Intact Mouse Heart Detected with Two-Dimensional Confocal Microscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karin P Hammer

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Dyssynchronous local Ca release within individual cardiac myocytes has been linked to cellular contractile dysfunction. Differences in Ca kinetics in adjacent cells may also provide a substrate for inefficient contraction and arrhythmias. In a new approach we quantify variation in local Ca transients between adjacent myocytes in the whole heart.Langendorff-perfused mouse hearts were loaded with Fluo-8 AM to detect Ca and Di-4-ANEPPS to visualize cell membranes. A spinning disc confocal microscope with a fast camera allowed us to record Ca signals within an area of 465 µm by 315 µm with an acquisition speed of 55 fps. Images from multiple transients recorded at steady state were registered to their time point in the cardiac cycle to restore averaged local Ca transients with a higher temporal resolution. Local Ca transients within and between adjacent myocytes were compared with regard to amplitude, time to peak and decay at steady state stimulation (250 ms cycle length.Image registration from multiple sequential Ca transients allowed reconstruction of high temporal resolution (2.4 ±1.3ms local CaT in 2D image sets (N= 4 hearts, n= 8 regions. During steady state stimulation, spatial Ca gradients were homogeneous within cells in both directions and independent of distance between measured points. Variation in CaT amplitudes was similar across the short and the long side of neighboring cells. Variations in TAU and TTP were similar in both directions. Isoproterenol enhanced the CaT but not the overall pattern of spatial heterogeneities.Here we detected and analyzed local Ca signals in intact mouse hearts with high temporal and spatial resolution, taking into account 2D arrangement of the cells. We observed significant differences in the variation of CaT amplitude along the long and short axis of cardiac myocytes. Variations of Ca signals between neighboring cells may contribute to the substrate of cardiac remodeling.

  9. Genome-wide identification of estrogen receptor alpha-binding sites in mouse liver

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gao, Hui; Fält, Susann; Sandelin, Albin

    2007-01-01

    We report the genome-wide identification of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha)-binding regions in mouse liver using a combination of chromatin immunoprecipitation and tiled microarrays that cover all nonrepetitive sequences in the mouse genome. This analysis identified 5568 ERalpha-binding regions...... genes. The majority of ERalpha-binding regions lie in regions that are evolutionarily conserved between human and mouse. Motif-finding algorithms identified the estrogen response element, and variants thereof, together with binding sites for activator protein 1, basic-helix-loop-helix proteins, ETS...... signaling in mouse liver, by characterizing the first step in this signaling cascade, the binding of ERalpha to DNA in intact chromatin....

  10. Accurate assessment of in situ isometric contractile properties of hindlimb plantar and dorsal flexor muscle complex of intact mice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gorselink, M.; Drost, M.R.; Louw, de J.; Willems, P.J.B.; Rosielle, P.C.J.N.; Janssen, J.D.; Vusse, van der G.J.

    2000-01-01

    An isometric torque sensor for measuring in situ contractions of plantar or dorsal flexors of intact mouse hindlimb has been developed and evaluated. With this device, muscle torque can be accurately measured within the range of -14 mN·m to +14 mN·m. Special attention was paid to fixation of the

  11. Variations in DNA synthesis and mitotic indices in hepatocytes and sinusoid litoral cells of adult intact male mouse along a circadian time span.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Surur, J M; Moreno, F R; Badrán, A F; Llanos, J M

    1985-01-01

    Variations of DNA synthesis (DNAS) and mitotic indices along a circadian time span are described in the hepatocyte and sinusoid litoral cell populations of adult intact male mouse liver. Standardized (light from 0600 to 1800) mice were killed in groups of six to nine animals, every 2-4 hr along a circadian time span. Hepatocytes show significant peaks in the synthesis of DNA and the mitotic activity at 0200 and 1400, respectively. These results correspond to those previously described by us in young immature liver, regenerating liver and hepatomas. The phase differences between these peaks and the differences between their absolute values are discussed. Also considered are the practical consequences of our findings for experimental design. The curve of DNA synthesis of sinusoid litoral cells show a peak at 0200. The mitotic index show a bimodal waveform with peaks at 0800 and 2000. The existence of four different cell populations composing the so called sinusoid litoral cells and also the migration into and out of the liver of some macrophages considered as litoral (Kupffer) cells in our counts, makes interpretation of the curves somewhat complicated and deserves further analysis.

  12. Molecular Evolutionary Characterization of a V1R Subfamily Unique to Strepsirrhine Primates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoder, Anne D.; Chan, Lauren M.; dos Reis, Mario; Larsen, Peter A.; Campbell, C. Ryan; Rasoloarison, Rodin; Barrett, Meredith; Roos, Christian; Kappeler, Peter; Bielawski, Joseph; Yang, Ziheng

    2014-01-01

    Vomeronasal receptor genes have frequently been invoked as integral to the establishment and maintenance of species boundaries among mammals due to the elaborate one-to-one correspondence between semiochemical signals and neuronal sensory inputs. Here, we report the most extensive sample of vomeronasal receptor class 1 (V1R) sequences ever generated for a diverse yet phylogenetically coherent group of mammals, the tooth-combed primates (suborder Strepsirrhini). Phylogenetic analysis confirms our intensive sampling from a single V1R subfamily, apparently unique to the strepsirrhine primates. We designate this subfamily as V1Rstrep. The subfamily retains extensive repertoires of gene copies that descend from an ancestral gene duplication that appears to have occurred prior to the diversification of all lemuriform primates excluding the basal genus Daubentonia (the aye-aye). We refer to the descendent clades as V1Rstrep-α and V1Rstrep-β. Comparison of the two clades reveals different amino acid compositions corresponding to the predicted ligand-binding site and thus potentially to altered functional profiles between the two. In agreement with previous studies of the mouse lemur (genus, Microcebus), the majority of V1Rstrep gene copies appear to be intact and under strong positive selection, particularly within transmembrane regions. Finally, despite the surprisingly high number of gene copies identified in this study, it is nonetheless probable that V1R diversity remains underestimated in these nonmodel primates and that complete characterization will be limited until high-coverage assembled genomes are available. PMID:24398377

  13. Comparison of Intact PTH and Bio-Intact PTH Assays Among Non-Dialysis Dependent Chronic Kidney Disease Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Einbinder, Yael; Benchetrit, Sydney; Golan, Eliezer; Zitman-Gal, Tali

    2017-09-01

    The third-generation bio-intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) (1-84) assay was designed to overcome problems associated with the detection of C-terminal fragments by the second-generation intact PTH assay. The two assays have been compared primarily among dialysis populations. The present study evaluated the correlations and differences between these two PTH assays among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 3 to 5 not yet on dialysis. Blood samples were collected from 98 patients with CKD stages 3 to 5. PTH concentrations were measured simultaneously by using the second-generation - PTH intact-STAT and third-generation bio-intact 1-84 PTH assays. Other serum biomarkers of bone mineral disorders were also assessed. CKD stage was calculated by using the CKD-Epidemiology Collaboration (EPI) formula. Serum bio-intact PTH concentrations were strongly correlated but significantly lower than the intact PTH concentrations (r=0.963, Pbio-intact PTH) positively correlated with urea (r=0.523, r=0.504; P=0.002, respectively), phosphorus (r=0.532, r=0.521; Pbio-intact PTH assay detected significantly lower PTH concentrations compared with intact PTH assay. Additional studies that correlate the diagnosis and management of CKD mineral and bone disorders with bone histomorphometric findings are needed to determine whether bio-intact PTH assay results are better surrogate markers in these early stages of CKD. © The Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine

  14. Comparison of allergenicity and immunogenicity of an intact allergen vaccine and commercially available allergoid products for birch pollen immunotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lund, L; Henmar, H; Würtzen, P A; Lund, G; Hjortskov, N; Larsen, J N

    2007-04-01

    Specific immunotherapy with intact allergen vaccine is a well-documented treatment for allergic diseases. Different vaccine formulations are currently commercially available, the active ingredient either being intact allergens or chemically modified allergoids. The rationale behind allergoids is to decrease allergenicity while maintaining immunogenicity. However, data from the German health authorities based on reporting of adverse events over a 10-year period did not indicate increased safety of allergoids over intact allergens. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of chemical modification on allergenicity and immunogenicity comparing four commercial allergoid products for birch pollen immunotherapy with an intact allergen vaccine. Solid-phase IgE inhibition and histamine release assays were selected as model systems for allergenicity, and a combination of human T cell proliferation and IgG titres following mouse immunizations were used to address the immunogenicity of the intact allergen vaccine and the four allergoids. In all assays, the products were normalized with respect to the manufacturer's recommended maintenance dose. IgE inhibition experiments showed a change in epitope composition comparing intact allergen vaccine with allergoid. One allergoid product induced enhanced histamine release compared to the intact allergens, while the other three allergoids showed reduced release. Standard T cell stimulation assays using lines from allergic patients showed a reduced response for all allergoids compared with the intact allergen vaccine regardless of the cell type used for antigen presentation. All allergoids showed reduced capacity to induce allergen-specific IgG responses in mice. While some allergoids were associated with reduced allergenicity, a clear reduction in immunogenicity was observed for all allergoid products compared with the intact allergen vaccine, and the commercial allergoids tested therefore do not fulfil the allergoid

  15. pGlyco 2.0 enables precision N-glycoproteomics with comprehensive quality control and one-step mass spectrometry for intact glycopeptide identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ming-Qi; Zeng, Wen-Feng; Fang, Pan; Cao, Wei-Qian; Liu, Chao; Yan, Guo-Quan; Zhang, Yang; Peng, Chao; Wu, Jian-Qiang; Zhang, Xiao-Jin; Tu, Hui-Jun; Chi, Hao; Sun, Rui-Xiang; Cao, Yong; Dong, Meng-Qiu; Jiang, Bi-Yun; Huang, Jiang-Ming; Shen, Hua-Li; Wong, Catherine C L; He, Si-Min; Yang, Peng-Yuan

    2017-09-05

    The precise and large-scale identification of intact glycopeptides is a critical step in glycoproteomics. Owing to the complexity of glycosylation, the current overall throughput, data quality and accessibility of intact glycopeptide identification lack behind those in routine proteomic analyses. Here, we propose a workflow for the precise high-throughput identification of intact N-glycopeptides at the proteome scale using stepped-energy fragmentation and a dedicated search engine. pGlyco 2.0 conducts comprehensive quality control including false discovery rate evaluation at all three levels of matches to glycans, peptides and glycopeptides, improving the current level of accuracy of intact glycopeptide identification. The N-glycoproteome of samples metabolically labeled with 15 N/ 13 C were analyzed quantitatively and utilized to validate the glycopeptide identification, which could be used as a novel benchmark pipeline to compare different search engines. Finally, we report a large-scale glycoproteome dataset consisting of 10,009 distinct site-specific N-glycans on 1988 glycosylation sites from 955 glycoproteins in five mouse tissues.Protein glycosylation is a heterogeneous post-translational modification that generates greater proteomic diversity that is difficult to analyze. Here the authors describe pGlyco 2.0, a workflow for the precise one step identification of intact N-glycopeptides at the proteome scale.

  16. Intact skull chronic windows for mesoscopic wide-field imaging in awake mice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silasi, Gergely; Xiao, Dongsheng; Vanni, Matthieu P.; Chen, Andrew C. N.; Murphy, Timothy H.

    2016-01-01

    Background Craniotomy-based window implants are commonly used for microscopic imaging, in head-fixed rodents, however their field of view is typically small and incompatible with mesoscopic functional mapping of cortex. New Method We describe a reproducible and simple procedure for chronic through-bone wide-field imaging in awake head-fixed mice providing stable optical access for chronic imaging over large areas of the cortex for months. Results The preparation is produced by applying clear-drying dental cement to the intact mouse skull, followed by a glass coverslip to create a partially transparent imaging surface. Surgery time takes about 30 minutes. A single set-screw provides a stable means of attachment for mesoscale assessment without obscuring the cortical field of view. Comparison with Existing Methods We demonstrate the utility of this method by showing seed-pixel functional connectivity maps generated from spontaneous cortical activity of GCAMP6 signals in both awake and anesthetized mice. Conclusions We propose that the intact skull preparation described here may be used for most longitudinal studies that do not require micron scale resolution and where cortical neural or vascular signals are recorded with intrinsic sensors. PMID:27102043

  17. Allergenicity, immunogenicity and dose-relationship of three intact allergen vaccines and four allergoid vaccines for subcutaneous grass pollen immunotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henmar, H; Lund, G; Lund, L; Petersen, A; Würtzen, P A

    2008-09-01

    Different vaccines containing intact allergens or chemically modified allergoids as active ingredients are commercially available for specific immunotherapy. Allergoids are claimed to have decreased allergenicity without loss of immunogenicity and this is stated to allow administration of high allergoid doses. We compared the allergenicity and immunogenicity of four commercially available chemically modified grass pollen allergoid products with three commercially available intact grass pollen allergen vaccines. The allergenicity was investigated with immunoglobulin (Ig)E-inhibition and basophil activation assays. Human T cell proliferation and specific IgG-titres following mouse immunizations were used to address immunogenicity. Furthermore, intact allergen vaccines with different contents of active ingredients were selected to study the influence of the allergen dose. In general, a lower allergenicity for allergen vaccines was clearly linked to a reduced immunogenicity. Compared with the vaccine with the highest amount of intact allergen, the allergoids caused reduced basophil activation as well as diminished immunogenicity demonstrated by reduced T cell activation and/or reduced induction of murine grass-specific IgG antibodies. Interestingly, intact allergen vaccines with lower content of active ingredient exhibited similarly reduced allergenicity, while immunogenicity was still higher or equal to that of allergoids. The low allergenicity observed for some allergoids was inherently linked to a significantly lower immunogenic response questioning the rationale behind the chemical modification into allergoids. In addition, the linkage between allergenicity, immunogenicity and dose found for intact allergen vaccines and the immunogen as well as allergenic immune responses observed for allergoids suggest that the modified allergen vaccines do not contain high doses of immunologically active ingredients.

  18. Positive Youth Development, Life Satisfaction and Problem Behaviors of Adolescents in Intact and Non-Intact Families in Hong Kong

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Tan Lei Shek

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated whether Chinese adolescents living in intact and non-intact families differed in their positive development, life satisfaction, and risk behavior. A total of 3,328 Secondary 1 students responded to measures of positive youth development (such as resilience and psychosocial competencies, life satisfaction, and risk behavior (substance abuse, delinquency, Internet addiction, consumption of pornographic materials, self-harm, and behavioral intention to engage in problem behavior. Findings revealed that adolescents growing up in intact families reported higher levels of positive developmental outcomes and life satisfaction as compared with adolescents from non-intact families. Adolescents in non-intact families also reported higher levels of risk behaviors than those growing up in intact families.

  19. AVP-stimulated nucleotide secretion in perfused mouse medullary thick ascending limb and cortical collecting duct

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Odgaard, Elvin V. P.; Prætorius, Helle; Leipziger, Jens Georg

    2009-01-01

    is stimulated remain elusive. Here, we investigate the phenomenon of nucleotide secretion in intact, perfused mouse medullary thick ascending limb (mTAL) and cortical collecting duct (CCD). The nucleotide secretion was monitored by a biosensor adapted to register nucleotides in the tubular outflow...

  20. Exploratory investigations of hypervelocity intact capture spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsou, P.; Griffiths, D. J.

    1993-01-01

    The ability to capture hypervelocity projectiles intact opens a new technique available for hypervelocity research. A determination of the reactions taking place between the projectile and the capture medium during the process of intact capture is extremely important to an understanding of the intact capture phenomenon, to improving the capture technique, and to developing a theory describing the phenomenon. The intact capture of hypervelocity projectiles by underdense media generates spectra, characteristic of the material species of projectile and capture medium involved. Initial exploratory results into real-time characterization of hypervelocity intact capture techniques by spectroscopy include ultra-violet and visible spectra obtained by use of reflecting gratings, transmitting gratings, and prisms, and recorded by photographic and electronic means. Spectrometry proved to be a valuable real-time diagnostic tool for hypervelocity intact capture events, offering understanding of the interactions of the projectile and the capture medium during the initial period and providing information not obtainable by other characterizations. Preliminary results and analyses of spectra produced by the intact capture of hypervelocity aluminum spheres in polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), and polyurethane (PU) foams are presented. Included are tentative emission species identifications, as well as gray body temperatures produced in the intact capture process.

  1. High resolution X-ray structures of mouse major urinary protein nasal isoform in complex with pheromones

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Perez-Miller, Samantha; Zou, Qin; Novotny, Milos V.; Hurley, Thomas D. (Indiana-Med); (Indiana)

    2010-09-07

    In mice, the major urinary proteins (MUP) play a key role in pheromonal communication by binding and transporting semiochemicals. MUP-IV is the only isoform known to be expressed in the vomeronasal mucosa. In comparison with the MUP isoforms that are abundantly excreted in the urine, MUP-IV is highly specific for the male mouse pheromone 2-sec-butyl-4,5-dihydrothiazole (SBT). To examine the structural basis of this ligand preference, we determined the X-ray crystal structure of MUP-IV bound to three mouse pheromones: SBT, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, and 2-heptanone. We also obtained the structure of MUP-IV with 2-ethylhexanol bound in the cavity. These four structures show that relative to the major excreted MUP isoforms, three amino acid substitutions within the binding calyx impact ligand coordination. The F103 for A along with F54 for L result in a smaller cavity, potentially creating a more closely packed environment for the ligand. The E118 for G substitution introduces a charged group into a hydrophobic environment. The sidechain of E118 is observed to hydrogen bond to polar groups on all four ligands with nearly the same geometry as seen for the water-mediated hydrogen bond network in the MUP-I and MUP-II crystal structures. These differences in cavity size and interactions between the protein and ligand are likely to contribute to the observed specificity of MUP-IV.

  2. Intact glycopeptide characterization using mass spectrometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Li; Qu, Yi; Zhang, Zhaorui; Wang, Zhe; Prytkova, Iya; Wu, Si

    2016-05-01

    Glycosylation is one of the most prominent and extensively studied protein post-translational modifications. However, traditional proteomic studies at the peptide level (bottom-up) rarely characterize intact glycopeptides (glycosylated peptides without removing glycans), so no glycoprotein heterogeneity information is retained. Intact glycopeptide characterization, on the other hand, provides opportunities to simultaneously elucidate the glycan structure and the glycosylation site needed to reveal the actual biological function of protein glycosylation. Recently, significant improvements have been made in the characterization of intact glycopeptides, ranging from enrichment and separation, mass spectroscopy (MS) detection, to bioinformatics analysis. In this review, we recapitulated currently available intact glycopeptide characterization methods with respect to their advantages and limitations as well as their potential applications.

  3. Excision of pyrimidine dimers from epidermal DNA and nonsemiconservative epidermal DNA synthesis following ultraviolet irradiation of mouse skin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bowden, G.T.; Trosko, J.E.; Shapas, B.G.; Boutwell, R.K.

    1975-01-01

    Pyrimidine dimer production and excision in epidermal DNA were studied at five different dose levels of ultraviolet light in the skin of intact mice. Dimer production increased with dose up to 50,400 ergs/sq mm. Approximately 30 percent of the thymine-containing dimers were excised by 24 hr after irradiation at three lower dose levels of ultraviolet light. Nonsemiconservative DNA replication in ultraviolet-irradiated mouse skin was shown to continue for at least 18 hr. The rate of nonsemiconservative replication decreased with time, but did so slowly. The initial rates of nonsemiconservative replication increased with ultraviolet light dose levels up to about 4200 ergs/sq mm, after which the initial rates were decreased. Semiconservative epidermal DNA synthesis was shown to be inhibited by hydroxyurea, but hydroxyurea had no effect on ultraviolet light-induced nonsemiconservative DNA replication. The observed pyrimidine dimer excision and nonsemiconservative DNA replication suggest that in the intact mouse the cells of the epidermis are capable of DNA excision repair after ultraviolet irradiation of mouse skin

  4. Role of Aquaporin-4 in Airspace-to-Capillary Water Permeability in Intact Mouse Lung Measured by a Novel Gravimetric Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Yuanlin; Ma, Tonghui; Matthay, Michael A.; Verkman, A.S.

    2000-01-01

    a simple gravimetric method to quantify osmosis and filtration in intact mouse lung and provide direct evidence for a contribution of the distal airways to airspace-to-capillary water transport. PMID:10613915

  5. Mouse models of long QT syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salama, Guy; London, Barry

    2007-01-01

    Congenital long QT syndrome is a rare inherited condition characterized by prolongation of action potential duration (APD) in cardiac myocytes, prolongation of the QT interval on the surface electrocardiogram (ECG), and an increased risk of syncope and sudden death due to ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Mutations of cardiac ion channel genes that affect repolarization cause the majority of the congenital cases. Despite detailed characterizations of the mutated ion channels at the molecular level, a complete understanding of the mechanisms by which individual mutations may lead to arrhythmias and sudden death requires study of the intact heart and its modulation by the autonomic nervous system. Here, we will review studies of molecularly engineered mice with mutations in the genes (a) known to cause long QT syndrome in humans and (b) specific to cardiac repolarization in the mouse. Our goal is to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of mouse models with long QT syndrome and to emphasize the advantages and limitations of these models. PMID:17038432

  6. Serum steroid levels in intact and endocrine ablated BALB/c nude mice and their intact littermates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brünner, N; Svenstrup, B; Spang-Thomsen, M

    1986-01-01

    An investigation was made of the serum steroid levels found in intact and endocrine ablated nude mice of both sexes and in their intact homozygous littermates. The results showed that nude mice have a normal steroidogenesis, but with decreased levels of circulating steroids compared to those...

  7. Intact skin and not stripped skin is crucial for the safety and efficacy of peanut epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT in mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mondoulet Lucie

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT on intact skin with an epicutaneous delivery system has already been used in preclinical and clinical studies. In epicutaneous vaccination and immunotherapy, the stripping of skin before application of the allergen is suggested to facilitate the passage of allergen through immune cells. Objectives The aim of this study was to compare the immunological response induced by EPIT performed on intact and stripped skin in a mouse model of peanut allergy. Methods After oral sensitization with peanut and cholera toxin, BALB/c mice were epicutaneously treated using an epicutaneous delivery system (Viaskin® (DBV Technologies, Paris applied either on intact skin or on stripped skin. Following EPIT, mice received an exclusive oral peanut regimen, aimed at triggering esophageal and jejunal lesions. We assessed eosinophil infiltration by histology, mRNA expression in the esophagus, antibody levels and peripheral T-cell response. Results EPIT on intact skin significantly reduced Th2 immunological response (IgE response and splenocyte secretion of Th2 cytokines as well as esophageal eosinophilia (2.7 ± 0.9, compared to Sham 19.9 ± 1.5, p  Conclusions Epicutaneous allergen-specific immunotherapy needs the integrity of superficial layers of the stratum corneum to warranty safety of treatment and to induce a tolerogenic profile of the immune response.

  8. Proteolysis breaks tolerance toward intact α345(IV) collagen, eliciting novel anti-GBM autoantibodies specific for α345NC1 hexamers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olaru, Florina; Wang, Xu-Ping; Luo, Wentian; Ge, Linna; Miner, Jeffrey H; Kleinau, Sandra; Geiger, Xochiquetzal J.; Wasiluk, Andrew; Heidet, Laurence; Kitching, A. Richard; Borza, Dorin-Bogdan

    2012-01-01

    Goodpasture disease is an autoimmune kidney disease mediated by autoAbs against NC1 monomers of α3(IV) collagen that bind to the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), usually causing rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. We identified a novel type of human IgG4-restricted anti-GBM autoAbs associated with mild non-progressive glomerulonephritis, which specifically targeted α345NC1 hexamers but not α3NC1 monomers. The mechanisms eliciting these anti-GBM autoAbs were investigated in mouse models recapitulating this phenotype. Wild type and FcγRIIB−/− mice immunized with autologous murine GBM NC1 hexamers produced mouse IgG1-restricted autoAbs specific for α345NC1 hexamers, which bound to the GBM in vivo but did not cause glomerulonephritis. In these mice, intact collagen IV from murine GBM was not immunogenic. However, in Col4a3−/− Alport mice, both intact collagen IV and NC1 hexamers from murine GBM elicited IgG antibodies specific for α3α4α5NC1 hexamers, which were not subclass restricted. As heterologous antigen in COL4A3-humanized mice, murine GBM NC1 hexamers elicited mouse IgG1, IgG2a and IgG2b autoAbs specific for α345NC1 hexamers and induced anti-GBM Ab glomerulonephritis. These findings indicate that tolerance toward autologous intact α3α4α5(IV) collagen is established in hosts expressing this antigen, even though autoreactive B cells specific for α345NC1 hexamers are not purged from their repertoire. Proteolysis selectively breaches this tolerance by generating autoimmunogenic α3α4α5NC1 hexamers. This provides a mechanism eliciting autoAbs specific for α345NC1 hexamers, which are restricted to non-inflammatory IgG subclasses and non-nephritogenic. In Alport syndrome, lack of tolerance toward α3α4α5(IV) collagen promotes production of alloantibodies to α345NC1 hexamers, including pro-inflammatory IgG subclasses which mediate post-transplant anti-GBM nephritis. PMID:23303673

  9. Presence of orally administered rice bran oil γ-oryzanol in its intact form in mouse plasma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Eri; Ito, Junya; Kato, Shunji; Sawada, Kazue; Matsuki, Midori; Hashimoto, Hiroyuki; Miyazawa, Teruo; Nakagawa, Kiyotaka

    2016-12-07

    Although the beneficial effects (e.g., lipid-lowering activity) of γ-oryzanol (OZ), a mixture of ferulic acid esters of plant sterols and triterpene alcohols, have been extensively investigated, few studies have evaluated the absorption and metabolism of OZ. Moreover, it is unclear whether OZ, once ingested, is directly absorbed by the intestine into the bloodstream at a sufficient level to exhibit activity. Here, we prepared OZ concentrate from purified rice bran oil (Rice Oil OZ), determined the concentration of OZ in the preparation (cycloartenyl ferulate equivalent concentration; 52.2%), and then carried out chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of plasma samples from mice after oral administration of Rice Oil OZ. The OZ concentrations of plasma from the control (vehicle-treated) mice were low (trace levels); however, at 5 h after a single oral administration of the Rice Oil OZ (600 mg per kg body weight), the levels significantly increased, reaching 17.6 ng mL -1 for cycloartenyl ferulate, 28.2 ng mL -1 for 24-methylenecycloartanyl ferulate isomers, 15.6 ng mL -1 for campesteryl ferulate, and 5.1 ng mL -1 for β-sitosteryl ferulate, respectively, expressed in equivalence of cycloartenyl ferulate in plasma. These results provided the first mass spectrometric evidence suggesting that a portion of orally administered OZ is directly absorbed by the intestine and is present in the intact form in plasma. The presence of a significant amount of OZ in its intact form in plasma may explain the beneficial effects of OZ in vivo.

  10. Lack of spatial segregation in the representation of pheromones and kairomones in the mouse medial amygdala.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinicius Miessler de Andrade Carvalho

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The nervous system is organized to detect, internally represent and process sensory information to generate appropriate behaviors. Despite the crucial importance of odors that elicit instinctive behaviors, such as pheromones and kairomones, their neural representation remains little characterized in the mammalian brain. Here we used expression of the immediate early gene product c-Fos as a marker of neuronal activity to find that a wide range of pheromones and kairomones produces activation in the medial nucleus of the amygdala, a brain area anatomically connected with the olfactory sensory organs. We see that activity in this nucleus depends on vomeronasal organ input, and that distinct vomeronasal stimuli activate a dispersed ensemble of cells, without any apparent spatial segregation. This activity pattern does not reflect the chemical category of the stimuli, their valence or the induced behaviors. These findings will help build a complete understanding of how odor information is processed in the brain to generate instinctive behaviors.

  11. In vivo robotics: the automation of neuroscience and other intact-system biological fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kodandaramaiah, Suhasa B; Boyden, Edward S; Forest, Craig R

    2013-12-01

    Robotic and automation technologies have played a huge role in in vitro biological science, having proved critical for scientific endeavors such as genome sequencing and high-throughput screening. Robotic and automation strategies are beginning to play a greater role in in vivo and in situ sciences, especially when it comes to the difficult in vivo experiments required for understanding the neural mechanisms of behavior and disease. In this perspective, we discuss the prospects for robotics and automation to influence neuroscientific and intact-system biology fields. We discuss how robotic innovations might be created to open up new frontiers in basic and applied neuroscience and present a concrete example with our recent automation of in vivo whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology of neurons in the living mouse brain. © 2013 New York Academy of Sciences.

  12. Bone marrow dosimetry in rats using direct tissue counting after injection of radio-iodinated intact monoclonal antibodies or F(ab')2 fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buchegger, F.; Chalandon, Y.; Pelegrin, A.; Hardman, N.; Mach, J.P.

    1991-01-01

    Normal rats were injected intravenously with 131I- and 125I-labeled intact murine and chimeric mouse-human monoclonal antibodies directed against carcinoembryonic antigen or with the corresponding F(ab')2 fragments. At different times after injection, individual animals were killed and radioactivity of blood and major organs, including bones and bone marrow, was determined. Ratios comparing radioactivity concentration in different tissues with that of bone marrow were calculated and found to remain stable during several effective half-lives of the antibodies. Mean bone marrow radioactivity was 35% (range, 29%-40%) of that of blood and 126% (range, 108%-147%) of that of liver after injection of intact Mabs or F(ab')2 fragments. In nude rats bearing human colon carcinoma xenografts producing carcinoembryonic antigen, relative bone marrow radioactivity was slightly lower than that in normal rats

  13. Intact glycopeptide characterization using mass spectrometry

    OpenAIRE

    Cao, Li; Qu, Yi; Zhang, Zhaorui; Wang, Zhe; Prykova, Iya; Wu, Si

    2016-01-01

    Glycosylation is one of the most prominent and extensively studied protein post-translational modifications. However, traditional proteomic studies at the peptide level (bottom-up) rarely characterize intact glycopeptides (glycosylated peptides without removing glycans), so no glycoprotein heterogeneity information is retained. Intact glycopeptide characterization, on the other hand, provides opportunities to simultaneously elucidate the glycan structure and the glycosylation site needed to r...

  14. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-MMUS-07-0085 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-07-0085 ref|NP_665841.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, E9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAM...69674.1|AF394954_1 vomeronasal receptor 1 E2 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79222.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 E6 [Mus m...usculus] gb|AAM62399.1| vomeronasal receptor V1RE9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41483.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, E9 ...[synthetic construct] gb|EDL03620.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, E9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI48767.1| Vomeronasa

  15. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-01-0219 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-01-0219 ref|NP_665841.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, E9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAM...69674.1|AF394954_1 vomeronasal receptor 1 E2 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79222.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 E6 [Mus m...usculus] gb|AAM62399.1| vomeronasal receptor V1RE9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41483.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, E9 ...[synthetic construct] gb|EDL03620.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, E9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI48767.1| Vomeronasa

  16. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-01-0216 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-01-0216 ref|NP_665841.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, E9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAM...69674.1|AF394954_1 vomeronasal receptor 1 E2 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAB79222.1| vomeronasal receptor 1 E6 [Mus m...usculus] gb|AAM62399.1| vomeronasal receptor V1RE9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI41483.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, E9 ...[synthetic construct] gb|EDL03620.1| vomeronasal 1 receptor, E9 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI48767.1| Vomeronasa

  17. Oral administration of yessotoxin stabilizes E-cadherin in mouse colon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Callegari, Federica; Sosa, Silvio; Ferrari, Sara; Soranzo, Maria Rosa; Pierotti, Silvia; Yasumoto, Takeshi; Tubaro, Aurelia; Rossini, Gian Paolo

    2006-01-01

    YTX has been shown to disrupt the E-cadherin-catenin system in cultured epithelial cells, raising some concern that ingestion of seafood contaminated by YTX might favour tumour spreading and metastasis formation in vivo. In order to probe whether YTX might affect cadherin systems in vivo, we have set up a study involving repeated oral dosing of the toxin in mice (1 mg/kg/day, for 7 days) and analysis of E-cadherin and N-cadherin in tissue extracts obtained at the end of the dosing scheme, as well as 1 and 3 months after YTX administration. We found that the E-cadherin pools obtained from lung and kidney were not altered by YTX in any of our experimental conditions. Extracts from mouse colon contained intact E-cadherin and an E-cadherin fragment of about 90 kDa (ECRA 9 ), displaying a molecular alteration resembling that caused by YTX in cultured cells. We found that the relative proportion of ECRA 9 , as compared to intact E-cadherin, was higher in colon extracts from control mice than from YTX-treated animals, indicating that oral administration of YTX to mice stabilizes E-cadherin of mouse colon. No significant difference could be detected in samples prepared from colons obtained 30 or 90 days after termination of YTX treatment. Oral administration of YTX to mice did not lead to a significant increase in the fragments of E-cadherin detectable in serum, neither it altered the N-cadherin pool of mouse heart. Electron microscopy analysis showed no substantial ultrastructural differences between controls and YTX-treated mice. Our findings show that ingestion of food contaminated by YTX poses a low risk of disruption of the E-cadherin system in vivo

  18. Gene expression profile data for mouse facial development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonia M. Leach

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This article contains data related to the research articles "Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Gene Expression during Growth and Fusion of the Mouse Facial Prominences" (Feng et al., 2009 [1] and “Systems Biology of facial development: contributions of ectoderm and mesenchyme” (Hooper et al., 2017 In press [2]. Embryonic mammalian craniofacial development is a complex process involving the growth, morphogenesis, and fusion of distinct facial prominences into a functional whole. Aberrant gene regulation during this process can lead to severe craniofacial birth defects, including orofacial clefting. As a means to understand the genes involved in facial development, we had previously dissected the embryonic mouse face into distinct prominences: the mandibular, maxillary or nasal between E10.5 and E12.5. The prominences were then processed intact, or separated into ectoderm and mesenchyme layers, prior analysis of RNA expression using microarrays (Feng et al., 2009, Hooper et al., 2017 in press [1,2]. Here, individual gene expression profiles have been built from these datasets that illustrate the timing of gene expression in whole prominences or in the separated tissue layers. The data profiles are presented as an indexed and clickable list of the genes each linked to a graphical image of that gene׳s expression profile in the ectoderm, mesenchyme, or intact prominence. These data files will enable investigators to obtain a rapid assessment of the relative expression level of any gene on the array with respect to time, tissue, prominence, and expression trajectory.

  19. CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 expression: Comparing 'humanized' mouse lines and wild-type mice; comparing human and mouse hepatoma-derived cell lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uno, Shigeyuki; Endo, Kaori; Ishida, Yuji; Tateno, Chise; Makishima, Makoto; Yoshizato, Katsutoshi; Nebert, Daniel W.

    2009-01-01

    Human and rodent cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes sometimes exhibit striking species-specific differences in substrate preference and rate of metabolism. Human risk assessment of CYP substrates might therefore best be evaluated in the intact mouse by replacing mouse Cyp genes with human CYP orthologs; however, how 'human-like' can human gene expression be expected in mouse tissues? Previously a bacterial-artificial-chromosome-transgenic mouse, carrying the human CYP1A1 C YP1A2 locus and lacking the mouse Cyp1a1 and Cyp1a2 orthologs, was shown to express robustly human dioxin-inducible CYP1A1 and basal versus inducible CYP1A2 (mRNAs, proteins, enzyme activities) in each of nine mouse tissues examined. Chimeric mice carrying humanized liver have also been generated, by transplanting human hepatocytes into a urokinase-type plasminogen activator(+/+) s evere-combined-immunodeficiency (uPA/SCID) line with most of its mouse hepatocytes ablated. Herein we compare basal and dioxin-induced CYP1A mRNA copy numbers, protein levels, and four enzymes (benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase, ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, acetanilide 4-hydroxylase, methoxyresorufin O-demethylase) in liver of these two humanized mouse lines versus wild-type mice; we also compare these same parameters in mouse Hepa-1c1c7 and human HepG2 hepatoma-derived established cell lines. Most strikingly, mouse liver CYP1A1-specific enzyme activities are between 38- and 170-fold higher than human CYP1A1-specific enzyme activities (per unit of mRNA), whereas mouse versus human CYP1A2 enzyme activities (per unit of mRNA) are within 2.5-fold of one another. Moreover, both the mouse and human hepatoma cell lines exhibit striking differences in CYP1A mRNA levels and enzyme activities. These findings are relevant to risk assessment involving human CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 substrates, when administered to mice as environmental toxicants or drugs.

  20. Strategies for Analyzing Data from Intact Groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cross, Lawrence H.; Lane, Carolyn E.

    Action research often necessitates the use of intact groups for the comparison of educational treatments or programs. This paper considers several analytical methods that might be used for such situations when pretest scores indicate that these intact groups differ significantly initially. The methods considered include gain score analysis of…

  1. Small Particles Intact Capture Experiment (SPICE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishioka, Ken-Ji; Carle, G. C.; Bunch, T. E.; Mendez, David J.; Ryder, J. T.

    1994-01-01

    The Small Particles Intact Capture Experiment (SPICE) will develop technologies and engineering techniques necessary to capture nearly intact, uncontaminated cosmic and interplanetary dust particles (IDP's). Successful capture of such particles will benefit the exobiology and planetary science communities by providing particulate samples that may have survived unaltered since the formation of the solar system. Characterization of these particles may contribute fundamental data to our knowledge of how these particles could have formed into our planet Earth and, perhaps, contributed to the beginnings of life. The term 'uncontaminated' means that captured cosmic and IDP particles are free of organic contamination from the capture process and the term 'nearly intact capture' means that their chemical and elemental components are not materially altered during capture. The key to capturing cosmic and IDP particles that are organic-contamination free and nearly intact is the capture medium. Initial screening of capture media included organic foams, multiple thin foil layers, and aerogel (a silica gel); but, with the exception of aerogel, the requirements of no contamination or nearly intact capture were not met. To ensure no contamination of particles in the capture process, high-purity aerogel was chosen. High-purity aerogel results in high clarity (visual clearness), a useful quality in detection and recovery of embedded captured particles from the aerogel. P. Tsou at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) originally described the use of aerogel for this purpose and reported laboratory test results. He has flown aerogel as a 'GAS-can Lid' payload on STS-47 and is evaluating the results. The Timeband Capture Cell Experiment (TICCE), a Eureca 1 experiment, is also flying aerogel and is scheduled for recovery in late April.

  2. Analysis of 16S libraries of mouse gastrointestinal microflora reveals a large new group of mouse intestinal bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salzman, Nita H; de Jong, Hendrik; Paterson, Yvonne; Harmsen, Hermie J M; Welling, Gjalt W; Bos, Nicolaas A

    2002-11-01

    Total genomic DNA from samples of intact mouse small intestine, large intestine, caecum and faeces was used as template for PCR amplification of 16S rRNA gene sequences with conserved bacterial primers. Phylogenetic analysis of the amplification products revealed 40 unique 16S rDNA sequences. Of these sequences, 25% (10/40) corresponded to described intestinal organisms of the mouse, including Lactobacillus spp., Helicobacter spp., segmented filamentous bacteria and members of the altered Schaedler flora (ASF360, ASF361, ASF502 and ASF519); 75% (30/40) represented novel sequences. A large number (11/40) of the novel sequences revealed a new operational taxonomic unit (OTU) belonging to the Cytophaga-Flavobacter-Bacteroides phylum, which the authors named 'mouse intestinal bacteria'. 16S rRNA probes were developed for this new OTU. Upon analysis of the novel sequences, eight were found to cluster within the Eubacterium rectale-Clostridium coccoides group and three clustered within the Bacteroides group. One of the novel sequences was distantly related to Verrucomicrobium spinosum and one was distantly related to Bacillus mycoides. Oligonucleotide probes specific for the 16S rRNA of these novel clones were generated. Using a combination of four previously described and four newly designed probes, approximately 80% of bacteria recovered from the murine large intestine and 71% of bacteria recovered from the murine caecum could be identified by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

  3. Gene : CBRC-MMUS-06-0104 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0104 6 A Pheromone receptors V1A16_RAT 2e-53 39% ref|NP_598931.1| vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, C15 [Mus musculus] gb|AAL47876.1| vomeronasal receptor V1RC15 [Mus musculus] dbj|BAC2634...7.1| unnamed protein product [Mus musculus] gb|AAI19598.1| Vomeronasal 1 receptor, C15 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI19597.1| Vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, C15 [Mus musculus] gb|EDK98787.1| vomeronasal 1 ...l-length enriched library, clone:4831417D05 product:similar to VOMERONASAL RECEPTOR V1RC3 [Mus musculus], fu

  4. Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Neuron Migration: Initiation, Maintenance and Cessation as Critical Steps to Ensure Normal Reproductive Function

    OpenAIRE

    Wierman, Margaret E.; Kiseljak-Vassiliades, Katja; Tobet, Stuart

    2010-01-01

    GnRH neurons follow a carefully orchestrated journey from their birth in the olfactory placode area. Initially, they migrate along with the vomeronasal nerve into the brain at the cribriform plate, then progress caudally to sites within the hypothalamus where they halt and send projections to the median eminence to activate pituitary gonadotropes. Many factors controlling this precise journey have been elucidated by the silencing or over expression of candidate genes in mouse models. Importan...

  5. 50 CFR 622.38 - Landing fish intact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... that is operating under the respective trip limits. Such cut-off fish also may be sold. A maximum of... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Landing fish intact. 622.38 Section 622.38... Landing fish intact. The operator of a vessel that fishes in the EEZ is responsible for ensuring that fish...

  6. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0246 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0246 ref|NP_775419.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B9 [Rattus norvegicus] s...p|Q5J3M9|VN1B9_RAT Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B9 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B12) (Vomeronasal receptor 5)... (Pheromone receptor VN5) gb|AAR87948.1| vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rb12 [Rattus norvegicus] NP_775419.2 1e-125 75% ...

  7. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-CPOR-01-1266 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-CPOR-01-1266 ref|NP_775419.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B9 [Rattus norvegicus] s...p|Q5J3M9|VN1B9_RAT Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B9 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B12) (Vomeronasal receptor 5)... (Pheromone receptor VN5) gb|AAR87948.1| vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rb12 [Rattus norvegicus] NP_775419.2 6e-64 44% ...

  8. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0249 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0249 ref|NP_775419.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B9 [Rattus norvegicus] s...p|Q5J3M9|VN1B9_RAT Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B9 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B12) (Vomeronasal receptor 5)... (Pheromone receptor VN5) gb|AAR87948.1| vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rb12 [Rattus norvegicus] NP_775419.2 1e-134 76% ...

  9. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0238 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0238 ref|NP_775419.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B9 [Rattus norvegicus] s...p|Q5J3M9|VN1B9_RAT Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B9 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B12) (Vomeronasal receptor 5)... (Pheromone receptor VN5) gb|AAR87948.1| vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rb12 [Rattus norvegicus] NP_775419.2 1e-133 80% ...

  10. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0255 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0255 ref|NP_775419.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B9 [Rattus norvegicus] s...p|Q5J3M9|VN1B9_RAT Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B9 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B12) (Vomeronasal receptor 5)... (Pheromone receptor VN5) gb|AAR87948.1| vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rb12 [Rattus norvegicus] NP_775419.2 1e-120 74% ...

  11. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0243 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0243 ref|NP_775419.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B9 [Rattus norvegicus] s...p|Q5J3M9|VN1B9_RAT Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B9 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B12) (Vomeronasal receptor 5)... (Pheromone receptor VN5) gb|AAR87948.1| vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rb12 [Rattus norvegicus] NP_775419.2 1e-132 76% ...

  12. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0244 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0244 ref|NP_775419.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B9 [Rattus norvegicus] s...p|Q5J3M9|VN1B9_RAT Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B9 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B12) (Vomeronasal receptor 5)... (Pheromone receptor VN5) gb|AAR87948.1| vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rb12 [Rattus norvegicus] NP_775419.2 1e-175 100% ...

  13. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-OCUN-01-0923 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-OCUN-01-0923 ref|NP_775419.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B9 [Rattus norvegicus] s...p|Q5J3M9|VN1B9_RAT Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B9 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B12) (Vomeronasal receptor 5)... (Pheromone receptor VN5) gb|AAR87948.1| vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rb12 [Rattus norvegicus] NP_775419.2 8e-74 48% ...

  14. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0259 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0259 ref|NP_775419.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B9 [Rattus norvegicus] s...p|Q5J3M9|VN1B9_RAT Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B9 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B12) (Vomeronasal receptor 5)... (Pheromone receptor VN5) gb|AAR87948.1| vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rb12 [Rattus norvegicus] NP_775419.2 1e-126 74% ...

  15. NCBI nr-aa BLAST: CBRC-RNOR-04-0240 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0240 ref|NP_775419.2| vomeronasal 1 receptor, B9 [Rattus norvegicus] s...p|Q5J3M9|VN1B9_RAT Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B9 (Vomeronasal type-1 receptor B12) (Vomeronasal receptor 5)... (Pheromone receptor VN5) gb|AAR87948.1| vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rb12 [Rattus norvegicus] NP_775419.2 1e-132 76% ...

  16. Effects of hydrolysed casein, intact casein and intact whey protein on energy expenditure and appetite regulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bendtsen, Line Quist; Lorenzen, Janne Kunchel; Gomes, Sisse

    2014-01-01

    Casein and whey differ in amino acid composition and in the rate of absorption; however, the absorption rate of casein can be increased to mimic that of whey by exogenous hydrolysis. The objective of the present study was to compare the effects of hydrolysed casein (HC), intact casein (IC......) and intact whey (IW) on energy expenditure (EE) and appetite regulation, and thereby to investigate the influence of amino acid composition and the rate of absorption. In the present randomised cross-over study, twenty-four overweight and moderately obese young men and women consumed three isoenergetic...

  17. Pharmacokinetics of erythropoietin in intact and anephric dogs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu, J.S.; Lertora, J.J.; Brookins, J.; Rice, J.C.; Fisher, J.W.

    1988-01-01

    The present studies were performed to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of erythropoietin in intact and anephric dogs by use of unlabeled crude native erythropoietin (nEp) and iodine 125-labeled purified recombinant erythropoietin (rEp) given by intravenous infusion for 15 minutes. Sephadex G-75 gel filtration was used to confirm that the 125I-rEp molecule remained iodinated in dog plasma during the 24-hour period of these studies. The plasma disappearance of erythropoietin conformed to a biexponential equation for both nEp and 125I-rEp, with the central compartment being larger than the peripheral compartment. The mean distribution half-life of 75.3 +/- 21.2 minutes for nEp was significantly (p less than 0.05) longer than that of 125I-rEp (23.7 +/- 5.0 minutes) in intact dogs. The intercompartmental clearance (CIic) for nEp (0.018 +/- 0.006 L/kg/hr) was significantly smaller than that of 125I-rEp (0.068 +/- 0.018 L/kg/hr) in intact dogs (p less than 0.05). There were no significant differences in apparent volume of distribution, elimination half-life, and elimination clearance (CIe) for nEp and rEp in intact dogs. The mean elimination half-life for 125I-rEp in intact dogs (9.0 +/- 0.6 hours) and anephric dogs (13.8 +/- 1.4 hours) was significantly different (p less than 0.05). The CIe for 125I-rEp in anephric dogs (0.008 +/- 0.001 L/kg/hr) was significantly (p less than 0.05) smaller than that of 125I-rEp in intact dogs (0.011 +/- 0.001 L/kg/hr). There were no significant differences in apparent volume of distribution, distribution half-life, and CIic for 125I-rEp in intact and anephric dogs

  18. Imaging with 11B of intact tissues using magnetic resonance gradient echoes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richards, T.L.; Bradshaw, K.M.; Freeman, D.M.; Sotak, C.H.; Gavin, P.R.

    1988-01-01

    Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a proposed method of treating Glioblastoma Multiforme. BNCT is based on 10 B intake by the tumor and in-situ activation by neutron beam. It is estimated that to have successful BNCT, a 10 B delivery mechanism must deposit 20 ppM or more of 10 B within the tumor. To study and understand this delivery mechanism, 11 B can be used instead of 10 B. The pharmacokinetics of any compound using 11 B will be the same as 10 B. The advantage of using 11 B over 10 B is its greater nuclear magnetic resonance sensitivity for both spectroscopy and imaging. The use of 11 B imaging to detect and quantitate boron uptake non-invasively in animal tumor modes will facilitate continued work with 10 B. Preliminary work has shown that 11 B nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (nonlocalized) can detect 11 B in intact mouse tissues and the area under the boron peak correlates with the total boron content (correlation coefficient of 0.997). Once the ability to non-invasively measure the boron compound is established using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with spectroscopy, we will be able to address the following questions: (1) what is the optimum method of boron administration for maximum tumor selective uptake, (2) at what time is peak tumor boron concentration after infusion, and (3) what is the dose distribution in the head (based on neutron radiation and boron concentration)? The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility of imaging 11 B in intact tissues using magnetic resonance

  19. Gene expression changes in the colon epithelium are similar to those of intact colon during late inflammation in interleukin-10 gene deficient mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna E Russ

    Full Text Available In addition to their role in absorption and secretion, epithelial cells play an important role in the protection of the colon mucosa from the resident microbiota and are important for the maintenance of homeostasis. Microarray analysis of intact colon samples is widely used to gain an overview of the cellular pathways and processes that are active in the colon during inflammation. Laser microdissection of colon epithelial cells allows a more targeted analysis of molecular pathways in the mucosa, preceding and during inflammation, with potentially increased sensitivity to changes in specific cell populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular changes that occur in early and late inflammation stages in colon epithelium of a mouse model of inflammatory bowel diseases. Microarray analysis of intact colon samples and microdissected colon epithelial cell samples from interleukin-10 gene deficient and control mice at 6 and 12 weeks of age was undertaken. Results of gene set enrichment analysis showed that more immune-related pathways were identified between interleukin-10 gene deficient and control mice at 6 weeks of age in epithelial cells than intact colon. This suggests that targeting epithelial cells could increase sensitivity for detecting immune changes that occur early in the inflammatory process. However, in the later stages of inflammation, microarray analyses of intact colon and epithelium both provide a similar overview of gene expression changes in the colon mucosa at the pathway level.

  20. Diffusion of [2-14C]diazepam across hairless mouse skin and human skin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koch, R.L.; Palicharla, P.; Groves, M.J.

    1987-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to investigate the absorption of diazepam applied topically to the hairless mouse in vivo and to determine the diffusion of diazepam across isolated hairless mouse skin and human skin. [ 14 C]Diazepam was readily absorbed after topical administration to the intact hairless mouse, a total of 75.8% of the 14 C-label applied being recovered in urine and feces. Diazepam was found to diffuse across human and hairless mouse skin unchanged in experiments with twin-chambered diffusion cells. The variation in diffusion rate or the flux for both human and mouse tissues was greater among specimens than between duplicate or triplicate trials for a single specimen. Fluxes for mouse skin (stratum corneum, epidermis, and dermis) were greater than for human skin (stratum corneum and epidermis): 0.35-0.61 microgram/cm2/h for mouse skin vs 0.24-0.42 microgram/cm2/h for human skin. The permeability coefficients for mouse skin ranged from 1.4-2.4 X 10(-2)cm/h compared with 0.8-1.4 X 10(-2)cm/h for human skin. Although human stratum corneum is almost twice the thickness of that of the hairless mouse, the diffusion coefficients for human skin were 3-12 times greater (0.76-3.31 X 10(-6) cm2/h for human skin vs 0.12-0.27 X 10(-6) cm2/h for hairless mouse) because of a shorter lag time for diffusion across human skin. These differences between the diffusion coefficients and diffusion rates (or permeability coefficients) suggest that the presence of the dermis may present some barrier properties. In vitro the dermis may require complete saturation before the diazepam can be detected in the receiving chamber

  1. Isolation of intact elastin fibers devoid of microfibrils.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Daamen, W.F.; Hafmans, T.G.M.; Veerkamp, J.H.; Kuppevelt, A.H.M.S.M. van

    2005-01-01

    Purification protocols for elastin generally result in greatly damaged elastin fibers and this likely influences the biological response. We here describe a novel protocol for the isolation of elastin whereby the fibers stay intact, and introduce the term "elastin fiber" for intact elastic fibers

  2. Hypophysectomy eliminates and growth hormone (GH) maintains the midpregnancy elevation in GH receptor and serum binding protein in the mouse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez-Jimenez, F.; Fielder, P.J.; Martinez, R.R.; Smith, W.C.; Talamantes, F.

    1990-01-01

    [ 125 I]Iodomouse GH [( 125 I]iodo-mGH) binding to samples of serum and hepatic microsomal membranes was measured in hypophysectomized pregnant, sham-operated pregnant, intact pregnant, and intact adult virgin mice. Surgeries were carried out on day 11 of pregnancy, and the animals were killed on day 14. The binding of mGH to both serum and hepatic microsomal membranes of intact virgin mice was much lower than to those of intact pregnant mice. In hypophysectomized mice, the mGH-binding capacity of both serum and hepatic microsomes decreased to values similar to those of nonpregnant mice. No significant differences were observed between intact and sham-operated pregnant animals in the maternal serum mGH concentration, the serum GH-binding protein concentration, or the hepatic GH receptor concentration. GH receptor and binding protein-encoding mRNAs were also higher in intact and sham-operated pregnant mice than in virgin and hypophysectomized mice. Hypophysectomized mice were treated with 200 micrograms/day bovine GH, administered by osmotic minipump; after 3 days of treatment, a significant elevation of hepatic GH receptor and serum GH-binding protein levels was observed. These results demonstrate an up-regulation of hepatic GH receptors and serum GH-binding protein by GH during pregnancy in the mouse

  3. NIH Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Centers: the power of centralized phenotyping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laughlin, Maren R; Lloyd, K C Kent; Cline, Gary W; Wasserman, David H

    2012-10-01

    The Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Centers (MMPCs) were founded in 2001 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to advance biomedical research by providing the scientific community with standardized, high-quality phenotyping services for mouse models of diabetes, obesity, and their complications. The intent is to allow researchers to take optimum advantage of the many new mouse models produced in labs and in high-throughput public efforts. The six MMPCs are located at universities around the country and perform complex metabolic tests in intact mice and hormone and analyte assays in tissues on a fee-for-service basis. Testing is subsidized by the NIH in order to reduce the barriers for mouse researchers. Although data derived from these tests belong to the researcher submitting mice or tissues, these data are archived after publication in a public database run by the MMPC Coordinating and Bioinformatics Unit. It is hoped that data from experiments performed in many mouse models of metabolic diseases, using standard protocols, will be useful in understanding the nature of these complex disorders. The current areas of expertise include energy balance and body composition, insulin action and secretion, whole-body and tissue carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, cardiovascular and renal function, and metabolic pathway kinetics. In addition to providing services, the MMPC staff provides expertise and advice to researchers, and works to develop and refine test protocols to best meet the community's needs in light of current scientific developments. Test technology is disseminated by publications and through annual courses.

  4. Chaotic electrical activity of living β-cells in the mouse pancreatic islet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanno, Takahiro; Miyano, Takaya; Tokuda, Isao; Galvanovskis, Juris; Wakui, Makoto

    2007-02-01

    To test for chaotic dynamics of the insulin producing β-cell and explore its biological role, we observed the action potentials with the perforated patch clamp technique, for isolated cells as well as for intact cells of the mouse pancreatic islet. The time series obtained were analyzed using nonlinear diagnostic algorithms associated with the surrogate method. The isolated cells exhibited short-term predictability and visible determinism, in the steady state response to 10 mM glucose, while the intact cells did not. In the latter case, determinism became visible after the application of a gap junction inhibitor. This tendency was enhanced by the stimulation with tolbutamide. Our observations suggest that, thanks to the integration of individual chaotic dynamics via gap junction coupling, the β-cells will lose memory of fluctuations occurring at any instant in their electrical activity more rapidly with time. This is likely to contribute to the functional stability of the islet against uncertain perturbations.

  5. Autism Spectrum Disorder and intact executive functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrara, R; Ansermet, F; Massoni, F; Petrone, L; Onofri, E; Ricci, P; Archer, T; Ricci, S

    2016-01-01

    Earliest notions concerning autism (Autism Spectrum Disorders, ASD) describe the disturbance in executive functioning. Despite altered definition, executive functioning, expressed as higher cognitive skills required complex behaviors linked to the prefrontal cortex, are defective in autism. Specific difficulties in children presenting autism or verbal disabilities at executive functioning levels have been identified. Nevertheless, the developmental deficit of executive functioning in autism is highly diversified with huge individual variation and may even be absent. The aim of the present study to examine the current standing of intact executive functioning intact in ASD. Analysis of ASD populations, whether high-functioning, Asperger's or autism Broad Phenotype, studied over a range of executive functions including response inhibition, planning, cognitive flexibility, cognitive inhibition, and alerting networks indicates an absence of damage/impairment compared to the typically-developed normal control subjects. These findings of intact executive functioning in ASD subjects provide a strong foundation on which to construct applications for growth environments and the rehabilitation of autistic subjects.

  6. Nonspecific airway reactivity in a mouse model of asthma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collie, D.D.; Wilder, J.A.; Bice, D.E.

    1995-12-01

    Animal models are indispensable for studies requiring an intact immune system, especially for studying the pathogenic mechanisms in atopic diseases, regulation of IgE production, and related biologic effects. Mice are particularly suitable and have been used extensively for such studies because their immune system is well characterized. Further, large numbers of mutants or inbred strains of mice are available that express deficiencies of individual immunologic processes, inflammatory cells, or mediator systems. By comparing reactions in such mice with appropriate control animals, the unique roles of individual cells or mediators may be characterized more precisely in the pathogenesis of atopic respiratory diseases including asthma. However, given that asthma in humans is characterized by the presence of airway hyperresponsiveness to specific and nonspecific stimuli, it is important that animal models of this disease exhibit similar physiologic abnormalities. In the past, the size of the mouse has limited its versatility in this regard. However, recent studies indicate the feasibility of measuring pulmonary responses in living mice, thus facilitating the physiologic evaluation of putative mouse models of human asthma that have been well charcterized at the immunologic and patholigic level. Future work will provide details of the morphometry of the methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction and will further seek to determine the relationship between cigarette smoke exposure and the development of NS-AHR in the transgenic mouse model.

  7. The TRPC2 channel forms protein-protein interactions with Homer and RTP in the rat vomeronasal organ

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brann Jessica H

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The signal transduction cascade operational in the vomeronasal organ (VNO of the olfactory system detects odorants important for prey localization, mating, and social recognition. While the protein machinery transducing these external cues has been individually well characterized, little attention has been paid to the role of protein-protein interactions among these molecules. Development of an in vitro expression system for the transient receptor potential 2 channel (TRPC2, which establishes the first electrical signal in the pheromone transduction pathway, led to the discovery of two protein partners that couple with the channel in the native VNO. Results Homer family proteins were expressed in both male and female adult VNO, particularly Homer 1b/c and Homer 3. In addition to this family of scaffolding proteins, the chaperones receptor transporting protein 1 (RTP1 and receptor expression enhancing protein 1 (REEP1 were also expressed. RTP1 was localized broadly across the VNO sensory epithelium, goblet cells, and the soft palate. Both Homer and RTP1 formed protein-protein interactions with TRPC2 in native reciprocal pull-down assays and RTP1 increased surface expression of TRPC2 in in vitro assays. The RTP1-dependent TRPC2 surface expression was paralleled with an increase in ATP-stimulated whole-cell current in an in vitro patch-clamp electrophysiological assay. Conclusions TRPC2 expression and channel activity is regulated by chaperone- and scaffolding-associated proteins, which could modulate the transduction of chemosignals. The developed in vitro expression system, as described here, will be advantageous for detailed investigations into TRPC2 channel activity and cell signalling, for a channel protein that was traditionally difficult to physiologically assess.

  8. Rudhira/BCAS3 is essential for mouse development and cardiovascular patterning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shetty, Ronak; Joshi, Divyesh; Jain, Mamta; Vasudevan, Madavan; Paul, Jasper Chrysolite; Bhat, Ganesh; Banerjee, Poulomi; Abe, Takaya; Kiyonari, Hiroshi; VijayRaghavan, K; Inamdar, Maneesha S

    2018-04-04

    Rudhira/Breast Carcinoma Amplified Sequence 3 (BCAS3) is a cytoskeletal protein that promotes directional cell migration and angiogenesis in vitro and is implicated in human carcinomas and coronary artery disease. To study the role of Rudhira during development in vivo, we generated the first knockout mouse for rudhira and show that Rudhira is essential for mouse development. Rudhira null embryos die at embryonic day (E) 9.5 accompanied by severe vascular patterning defects in embryonic and extra-embryonic tissues. To identify the molecular processes downstream of rudhira, we analyzed the transcriptome of intact knockout yolk sacs. Genome-wide transcriptome analysis showed that Rudhira functions in angiogenesis and its related processes such as cell adhesion, extracellular matrix organization, peptidase activity and TGFβ signaling. Since Rudhira is also expressed in endothelial cells (ECs), we further generated Tie2Cre-mediated endothelial knockout (CKO) of rudhira. CKO embryos survive to E11.5 and similar to the global knockout, display gross vascular patterning defects, showing that endothelial Rudhira is vital for development. Further, Rudhira knockdown ECs in culture fail to sprout in a spheroid-sprouting assay, strongly supporting its role in vascular patterning. Our study identifies an essential role for Rudhira in blood vessel remodeling and provides a mouse model for cardiovascular development.

  9. Exocrine Gland-Secreting Peptide 1 Is a Key Chemosensory Signal Responsible for the Bruce Effect in Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hattori, Tatsuya; Osakada, Takuya; Masaoka, Takuto; Ooyama, Rumi; Horio, Nao; Mogi, Kazutaka; Nagasawa, Miho; Haga-Yamanaka, Sachiko; Touhara, Kazushige; Kikusui, Takefumi

    2017-10-23

    The Bruce effect refers to pregnancy termination in recently pregnant female rodents upon exposure to unfamiliar males [1]. This event occurs in specific combinations of laboratory mouse strains via the vomeronasal system [2, 3]; however, the responsible chemosensory signals have not been fully identified. Here we demonstrate that the male pheromone exocrine gland-secreting peptide 1 (ESP1) is one of the key factors that causes pregnancy block. Female mice exhibited high pregnancy failure rates upon encountering males that secreted different levels of ESP1 compared to the mated male. The effect was not observed in mice that lacked the ESP1 receptor, V2Rp5, which is expressed in vomeronasal sensory neurons. Prolactin surges in the blood after mating, which are essential for maintaining luteal function, were suppressed by ESP1 exposure, suggesting that a neuroendocrine mechanism underlies ESP1-mediated pregnancy failure. The single peptide pheromone ESP1 conveys not only maleness to promote female receptivity but also the males' characteristics to facilitate memorization of the mating partner. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Intact collagen and atelocollagen sponges: Characterization and ESEM observation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruozi, Barbara; Tosi, Giovanni; Leo, Eliana; Parma, Bruna; Vismara, Susanna; Forni, Flavio; Vandelli, Maria Angela

    2007-01-01

    In this study we have investigated the chemical-physical and morphological properties of intact and atelocollagen sponges used for tissue engineering. The porous sponges were prepared by lyophilization and their physico-chemical characteristics (water binding capacity, denaturing temperature, amino group content) were investigated. Considering the importance of the 'in vivo' interactions between these sponges and the tissue, our attention was addressed (a) to clarify the relationships between the morphology and the amount of water absorbed and (b) to evaluate the influence of pepsin-alkaline treatment on the reorganization of the atelocollagen fibres. Conventional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) were employed to study the morphology and wetting behaviour of the intact and atelocollagen sponges. The observations by SEM indicated remarkable differences both in the structure and dimension of the pores between intact and atelocollagen sponges. At the data are related to a different water binding capacity. However, the ESEM observations, achieved by changing the relative humidity in the operative chamber, demonstrated that the water adsorbed can be removed with major difficulty from atelocollagen sponges than from intact ones

  11. Development and Characterization of a Human and Mouse Intestinal Epithelial Cell Monolayer Platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenji Kozuka

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Summary: We describe the development and characterization of a mouse and human epithelial cell monolayer platform of the small and large intestines, with a broad range of potential applications including the discovery and development of minimally systemic drug candidates. Culture conditions for each intestinal segment were optimized by correlating monolayer global gene expression with the corresponding tissue segment. The monolayers polarized, formed tight junctions, and contained a diversity of intestinal epithelial cell lineages. Ion transport phenotypes of monolayers from the proximal and distal colon and small intestine matched the known and unique physiology of these intestinal segments. The cultures secreted serotonin, GLP-1, and FGF19 and upregulated the epithelial sodium channel in response to known biologically active agents, suggesting intact secretory and absorptive functions. A screen of over 2,000 pharmacologically active compounds for inhibition of potassium ion transport in the mouse distal colon cultures led to the identification of a tool compound. : Siegel and colleagues describe their development of a human and mouse intestinal epithelial cell monolayer platform that maintains the cellular, molecular, and functional characteristics of tissue for each intestinal segment. They demonstrate the platform's application to drug discovery by screening a library of over 2,000 compounds to identify an inhibitor of potassium ion transport in the mouse distal colon. Keywords: intestinal epithelium, organoids, monolayer, colon, small intestine, phenotype screening assays, enteroid, colonoid

  12. Measurement of diffusive properties of intact rock

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harvey, K B

    1996-12-01

    In the Postclosure Assessment of a Reference System for the Disposal of Canada`s Nuclear Fuel Waste (Goodwin et al. 1994) the disposal vault is assumed to be surrounded by a zone of intact rock, referred to as the `exclusion zone.` A sensitivity analysis of the relative effectiveness of the several engineered and natural barriers that contribute to the safety of the reference disposal system has shown that this zone of intact rock is the most effective of these barriers to the movement of radionuclides through the reference system. Peer review of the geosphere model used in the case study for the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) of the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program has identified the need to quantify the properties of the intact rock surrounding the disposal vault that would control the transport of radionuclides by diffusion. The Postclosure Assessment also identified the need for appropriate values of the free water diffusion coefficient (D{sub o}) for {sup 129}1 and {sup 14}C. The measurement of rock resistivity allows the calculation of the Formation Factor for a rock This review describes the Formation Factor, diffusivity, permeability, and porosity, and how these properties might be measured or inferred for insitu rock under the conditions that apply to the intact rock surrounding a potential disposal vault. The importance of measuring the intrinsic diffusion coefficient (D{sup i}) of diffusing species under solution salinities simulating those of groundwaters is emphasised, and a method of measurement is described that is independent of the diffusing medium, and which would be appropriate for measurements made in chemically complex media such as groundwaters. (author). 95 refs., 4 tabs., 39 figs.

  13. Measurement of diffusive properties of intact rock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harvey, K.B.

    1996-12-01

    In the Postclosure Assessment of a Reference System for the Disposal of Canada's Nuclear Fuel Waste (Goodwin et al. 1994) the disposal vault is assumed to be surrounded by a zone of intact rock, referred to as the 'exclusion zone.' A sensitivity analysis of the relative effectiveness of the several engineered and natural barriers that contribute to the safety of the reference disposal system has shown that this zone of intact rock is the most effective of these barriers to the movement of radionuclides through the reference system. Peer review of the geosphere model used in the case study for the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) of the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management Program has identified the need to quantify the properties of the intact rock surrounding the disposal vault that would control the transport of radionuclides by diffusion. The Postclosure Assessment also identified the need for appropriate values of the free water diffusion coefficient (D o ) for 129 1 and 14 C. The measurement of rock resistivity allows the calculation of the Formation Factor for a rock This review describes the Formation Factor, diffusivity, permeability, and porosity, and how these properties might be measured or inferred for insitu rock under the conditions that apply to the intact rock surrounding a potential disposal vault. The importance of measuring the intrinsic diffusion coefficient (D i ) of diffusing species under solution salinities simulating those of groundwaters is emphasised, and a method of measurement is described that is independent of the diffusing medium, and which would be appropriate for measurements made in chemically complex media such as groundwaters. (author). 95 refs., 4 tabs., 39 figs

  14. Less Daily Computer Use is Related to Smaller Hippocampal Volumes in Cognitively Intact Elderly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silbert, Lisa C; Dodge, Hiroko H; Lahna, David; Promjunyakul, Nutta-On; Austin, Daniel; Mattek, Nora; Erten-Lyons, Deniz; Kaye, Jeffrey A

    2016-01-01

    Computer use is becoming a common activity in the daily life of older individuals and declines over time in those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The relationship between daily computer use (DCU) and imaging markers of neurodegeneration is unknown. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between average DCU and volumetric markers of neurodegeneration on brain MRI. Cognitively intact volunteers enrolled in the Intelligent Systems for Assessing Aging Change study underwent MRI. Total in-home computer use per day was calculated using mouse movement detection and averaged over a one-month period surrounding the MRI. Spearman's rank order correlation (univariate analysis) and linear regression models (multivariate analysis) examined hippocampal, gray matter (GM), white matter hyperintensity (WMH), and ventricular cerebral spinal fluid (vCSF) volumes in relation to DCU. A voxel-based morphometry analysis identified relationships between regional GM density and DCU. Twenty-seven cognitively intact participants used their computer for 51.3 minutes per day on average. Less DCU was associated with smaller hippocampal volumes (r = 0.48, p = 0.01), but not total GM, WMH, or vCSF volumes. After adjusting for age, education, and gender, less DCU remained associated with smaller hippocampal volume (p = 0.01). Voxel-wise analysis demonstrated that less daily computer use was associated with decreased GM density in the bilateral hippocampi and temporal lobes. Less daily computer use is associated with smaller brain volume in regions that are integral to memory function and known to be involved early with Alzheimer's pathology and conversion to dementia. Continuous monitoring of daily computer use may detect signs of preclinical neurodegeneration in older individuals at risk for dementia.

  15. Subcellular distribution of glycogen and decreased tetanic Ca2+ in fatigued single intact mouse muscle fibres

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Joachim; Cheng, Arthur J; Ørtenblad, Niels

    2014-01-01

    In skeletal muscle fibres, glycogen has been shown to be stored at different subcellular locations: (i) between the myofibrils (intermyofibrillar); (ii) within the myofibrils (intramyofibrillar); and (iii) subsarcolemmal. Of these, intramyofibrillar glycogen has been implied as a critical regulator...... of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) release. The aim of the present study was to test directly how the decrease in cytoplasmic free Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)]i) during repeated tetanic contractions relates to the subcellular glycogen distribution. Single fibres of mouse flexor digitorum brevis muscles were fatigued with 70 Hz...... in tetanic [Ca(2+)]i, and hence force, is accompanied by major reductions in inter- and intramyofibrillar glycogen. The stronger correlation between decreased tetanic [Ca(2+)]i and reduced intramyofibrillar glycogen implies that sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) release critically depends on energy supply from...

  16. Transepithelial SCFA fluxes link intracellular and extracellular pH regulation of mouse colonocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, S; Montrose, M H

    1997-10-01

    We have studied pH regulation in both intracellular and extracellular compartments of mouse colonic crypts, using distal colonic mucosa with intact epithelial architecture. In this work, we question how transepithelial SCFA gradients affect intracellular pH (pHi) and examine interactions between extracellular pH (pHo) and pHi regulation in crypts of distal colonic epithelium from mouse. We studied pH regulation in three adjacent compartments of distal colonic epithelium (crypt lumen, crypt epithelial cell cytosol, and lamina propria) with SNARF-1 (a pH sensitive fluorescent dye), digital imaging microscopy (for pHi), and confocal microscopy (for pHo). Combining results from the three compartments allows us to find how pHi and pHo are regulated and related under the influence of physiological transepithelial SCFA gradients, and develop a better understanding of pH regulation mechanisms in colonic crypts. Results suggest a complex interdependency between SCFA fluxes and pHo values, which can directly affect how strongly SCFAs acidify colonocytes.

  17. A Functional Analysis on the Interspecies Interaction between Mouse LFA-1 and Human Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 at the Cell Level

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Núñez

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The interaction between intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM and the integrin leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1 is crucial for the regulation of several physiological and pathophysiological processes like cell-mediated elimination of tumor or virus infected cells, cancer metastasis, or inflammatory and autoimmune processes. Using purified proteins it was reported a species restriction for the interaction of ICAM-1 and LFA-1, being mouse ICAM-1 able to interact with human LFA-1 but not human ICAM-1 with mouse LFA-1. However, in vivo results employing tumor cells transfected with human ICAM-1 suggest that functionally mouse LFA-1 can recognize human ICAM-1. In order to clarify the interspecies cross-reactivity of the ICAM-1/LFA-1 interaction, we have performed functional studies analyzing the ability of human soluble ICAM-1 and human/mouse LFA-1 derived peptides to inhibit cell aggregation and adhesion as well as cell-mediated cytotoxicity in both mouse and human systems. In parallel, the affinity of the interaction between mouse LFA-1-derived peptides and human ICAM-1 was determined by calorimetry assays. According to the results obtained, it seems that human ICAM-1 is able to interact with mouse LFA-1 on intact cells, which should be taking into account when using humanized mice and xenograft models for the study of immune-related processes.

  18. A Functional Analysis on the Interspecies Interaction between Mouse LFA-1 and Human Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 at the Cell Level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Núñez, David; Comas, Laura; Lanuza, Pilar M; Sánchez-Martinez, Diego; Pérez-Hernández, Marta; Catalán, Elena; Domingo, María Pilar; Velázquez-Campoy, Adrián; Pardo, Julián; Gálvez, Eva M

    2017-01-01

    The interaction between intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAM) and the integrin leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) is crucial for the regulation of several physiological and pathophysiological processes like cell-mediated elimination of tumor or virus infected cells, cancer metastasis, or inflammatory and autoimmune processes. Using purified proteins it was reported a species restriction for the interaction of ICAM-1 and LFA-1, being mouse ICAM-1 able to interact with human LFA-1 but not human ICAM-1 with mouse LFA-1. However, in vivo results employing tumor cells transfected with human ICAM-1 suggest that functionally mouse LFA-1 can recognize human ICAM-1. In order to clarify the interspecies cross-reactivity of the ICAM-1/LFA-1 interaction, we have performed functional studies analyzing the ability of human soluble ICAM-1 and human/mouse LFA-1 derived peptides to inhibit cell aggregation and adhesion as well as cell-mediated cytotoxicity in both mouse and human systems. In parallel, the affinity of the interaction between mouse LFA-1-derived peptides and human ICAM-1 was determined by calorimetry assays. According to the results obtained, it seems that human ICAM-1 is able to interact with mouse LFA-1 on intact cells, which should be taking into account when using humanized mice and xenograft models for the study of immune-related processes.

  19. Liver polyribosome distribution in intact and adrenalectomized rats exposed to. gamma. radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yatvin, M B; Abdel-Halim, M N [Wisconsin Univ., Madison (USA). Dept. of Radiology; Wisconsin Univ., Madison (USA). Dept. of Human Oncology)

    1978-06-01

    The mechanism(s) by which gamma radiation influences liver polyribosome distribution was studied in groups of intact and adrenalectomized male rats. A shift from light to heavy aggregates occurred in the polyribosomes of both intact and adrenalectomized rats after they were exposed to gamma rays. In irradiated adrenalectomized rats, however, the shift to heavier aggregates was not as great as that which occurred in irradiated adrenal-intact animals. Subcutaneous injection of cortisone acetate (10 mg/100 g body weight) also altered the liver polyribosome patterns of both intact and adrenalectomized rats within 8 hours of its administration. The shift which occurred following cortisone administration, however, was less striking than that seen after irradiation only. Thus, although adrenal glucocorticoids contribute to the radiation-indu ied shift in liver polyribosomes in adrenal-intact rats, other factors appear to be involved, since the shift is also obtained in adrenalectomized animals.

  20. Connective tissue growth factor/CCN2-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts retain intact transforming growth factor-β responsiveness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mori, Yasuji; Hinchcliff, Monique; Wu, Minghua; Warner-Blankenship, Matthew; Lyons, Karen M.; Varga, John

    2008-01-01

    Background: The matricellular protein connective tissue growth factor (CCN2) has been implicated in pathological fibrosis, but its physiologic role remains elusive. In vitro, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) induces CCN2 expression in mesenchymal cells. Because CCN2 can enhance profibrotic responses elicited by TGF-β, it has been proposed that CCN2 functions as an essential downstream signaling mediator for TGF-β. To explore this notion, we characterized TGF-β-induced activation of fibroblasts from CCN2-null (CCN2 -/- ) mouse embryos. Methods: The regulation of CCN2 expression was examined in vivo in a model of fibrosis induced by bleomycin. Cellular TGF-β signal transduction and regulation of collagen gene expression were examined in CCN2 -/- MEFs by immunohistochemistry, Northern, Western and RT-PCR analysis, immunocytochemistry and transient transfection assays. Results: Bleomycin-induced skin fibrosis in the mouse was associated with substantial CCN2 up-regulation in lesional fibroblasts. Whereas in vitro proliferation rate of CCN2 -/- MEFs was markedly reduced compared to wild type MEFs, TGF-β-induced activation of the Smad pathways, including Smad2 phosphorylation, Smad2/3 and Smad4 nuclear accumulation and Smad-dependent transcriptional responses, were unaffected by loss of CCN2. The stimulation of COL1A2 and fibronectin mRNA expression and promoter activity, and of corresponding protein levels, showed comparable time and dose-response in wild type and CCN2 -/- MEFs, whereas stimulation of alpha smooth muscle actin and myofibroblast transdifferentiation showed subtle impairment in MEFs lacking CCN2. Conclusion: Whereas endogenous CCN2 plays a role in regulation of proliferation and TGF-β-induced myofibroblast transdifferentiation, it appears to be dispensable for Smad-dependent stimulation of collagen and extracellular matrix synthesis in murine embryonic fibroblasts

  1. Mouse pancreas tissue slice culture facilitates long-term studies of exocrine and endocrine cell physiology in situ.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marciniak, Anja; Selck, Claudia; Friedrich, Betty; Speier, Stephan

    2013-01-01

    Studies on pancreatic cell physiology rely on the investigation of exocrine and endocrine cells in vitro. Particularly, in the case of the exocrine tissue these studies have suffered from a reduced functional viability of acinar cells in culture. As a result not only investigations on dispersed acinar cells and isolated acini were limited in their potential, but also prolonged studies on pancreatic exocrine and endocrine cells in an intact pancreatic tissue environment were unfeasible. To overcome these limitations, we aimed to establish a pancreas tissue slice culture platform to allow long-term studies on exocrine and endocrine cells in the intact pancreatic environment. Mouse pancreas tissue slice morphology was assessed to determine optimal long-term culture settings for intact pancreatic tissue. Utilizing optimized culture conditions, cell specificity and function of exocrine acinar cells and endocrine beta cells were characterized over a culture period of 7 days. We found pancreas tissue slices cultured under optimized conditions to have intact tissue specific morphology for the entire culture period. Amylase positive intact acini were present at all time points of culture and acinar cells displayed a typical strong cell polarity. Amylase release from pancreas tissue slices decreased during culture, but maintained the characteristic bell-shaped dose-response curve to increasing caerulein concentrations and a ca. 4-fold maximal over basal release. Additionally, endocrine beta cell viability and function was well preserved until the end of the observation period. Our results show that the tissue slice culture platform provides unprecedented maintenance of pancreatic tissue specific morphology and function over a culture period for at least 4 days and in part even up to 1 week. This analytical advancement now allows mid -to long-term studies on the cell biology of pancreatic disorder pathogenesis and therapy in an intact surrounding in situ.

  2. Mouse pancreas tissue slice culture facilitates long-term studies of exocrine and endocrine cell physiology in situ.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anja Marciniak

    Full Text Available Studies on pancreatic cell physiology rely on the investigation of exocrine and endocrine cells in vitro. Particularly, in the case of the exocrine tissue these studies have suffered from a reduced functional viability of acinar cells in culture. As a result not only investigations on dispersed acinar cells and isolated acini were limited in their potential, but also prolonged studies on pancreatic exocrine and endocrine cells in an intact pancreatic tissue environment were unfeasible. To overcome these limitations, we aimed to establish a pancreas tissue slice culture platform to allow long-term studies on exocrine and endocrine cells in the intact pancreatic environment. Mouse pancreas tissue slice morphology was assessed to determine optimal long-term culture settings for intact pancreatic tissue. Utilizing optimized culture conditions, cell specificity and function of exocrine acinar cells and endocrine beta cells were characterized over a culture period of 7 days. We found pancreas tissue slices cultured under optimized conditions to have intact tissue specific morphology for the entire culture period. Amylase positive intact acini were present at all time points of culture and acinar cells displayed a typical strong cell polarity. Amylase release from pancreas tissue slices decreased during culture, but maintained the characteristic bell-shaped dose-response curve to increasing caerulein concentrations and a ca. 4-fold maximal over basal release. Additionally, endocrine beta cell viability and function was well preserved until the end of the observation period. Our results show that the tissue slice culture platform provides unprecedented maintenance of pancreatic tissue specific morphology and function over a culture period for at least 4 days and in part even up to 1 week. This analytical advancement now allows mid -to long-term studies on the cell biology of pancreatic disorder pathogenesis and therapy in an intact surrounding in situ.

  3. Sorption of cesium in intact rock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puukko, E.

    2014-04-01

    The mass distribution coefficient K d is used in performance assessment (PA) to describe sorption of a radionuclide on rock. The R d is determined using crushed rock which causes uncertainty in converting the R d values to K d values for intact rock. This work describes a method to determine the equilibrium of sorption on intact rock. The rock types of the planned Olkiluoto waste disposal site were T-series mica gneiss (T-MGN), T-series tonalite granodiorite granite gneiss (T-TGG), P-series tonalite granodiorite granite gneiss (P-TGG) and pegmatitic granite (PGR). These rocks contain different amount of biotite which is the main sorbing mineral. The sorption of cesium on intact rock slices was studied by applying an electrical field to speed up migration of cesium into the rock. Cesium is in the solution as a noncomplex cation Cs + and it is sorbed by ion exchange. The tracer used in the experiments was 134 Cs. The experimental sorption on the intact rock is compared with values calculated using the in house cation exchange sorption model (HYRL model) in PHREEQC program. The observed sorption on T-MGN and T-TGG rocks was close to the calculated values. Two PGR samples were from a depth of 70 m and three samples were from a depth of 150 m. Cesium sorbed more than predicted on the two 70 m PGR samples. The sorption of Cs on the three 150 m PGR samples was small which was consistent with the calculations. The pegmatitic granite PGR has the smallest content of biotite of the four rock types. In the case of P-TGG rock the observed values of sorption were only half of the calculated values. Two kind of slices were cut from P-TGG drill core. The slices were against and to the direction of the foliation of the biotite rims. The sorption of cesium on P-TGG rock was same in both cases. The results indicated that there was no effect of the directions of the electric field and the foliation of biotite in the P-TGG rock. (orig.)

  4. Dose-dependent effects of ouabain on spiral ganglion neurons and Schwann cells in mouse cochlea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhi-Jian; Guan, Hong-Xia; Yang, Kun; Xiao, Bo-Kui; Liao, Hua; Jiang, Yang; Zhou, Tao; Hua, Qing-Quan

    2017-10-01

    This study aimed in fully investigating the toxicities of ouabain to mouse cochlea and the related cellular environment, and providing an optimal animal model system for cell transplantation in the treatment of auditory neuropathy (AN) and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Different dosages of ouabain were applied to mouse round window. The auditory brainstem responses and distortion product otoacoustic emissions were used to evaluate the cochlear function. The immunohistochemical staining and cochlea surface preparation were performed to detect the spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), Schwann cells and hair cells. Ouabain at the dosages of 0.5 mM, 1 mM and 3 mM selectively and permanently destroyed SGNs and their functions, while leaving the hair cells relatively intact. Ouabain at 3 mM resulted in the most severe SGNs loss and induced significant loss of Schwann cells started as early as 7 days and with further damages at 14 and 30 days after ouabain exposure. The application of ouabain to mouse round window induces damages of SGNs and Schwann cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, this study established a reliable and accurate animal model system of AN and SNHL.

  5. Dihydrotestosterone activates the MAPK pathway and modulates maximum isometric force through the EGF receptor in isolated intact mouse skeletal muscle fibres.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamdi, M M; Mutungi, G

    2010-02-01

    It is generally believed that steroid hormones have both genomic and non-genomic (rapid) actions. Although the latter form an important component of the physiological response of these hormones, little is known about the cellular signalling pathway(s) mediating these effects and their physiological functions in adult mammalian skeletal muscle fibres. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the non-genomic actions of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and their physiological role in isolated intact mammalian skeletal muscle fibre bundles. Our results show that treating the fibre bundles with physiological concentrations of DHT increases both twitch and tetanic contractions in fast twitch fibres. However, it decreases them in slow twitch fibres. These changes in force are accompanied by an increase in the phosphorylation of MAPK/ERK1/2 in both fibre types and that of regulatory myosin light chains in fast twitch fibres. Both effects were insensitive to inhibitors of Src kinase, androgen receptor, insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor and platelet-derived growth factor receptor. However, they were abolished by the MAPK/ERK1/2 kinase inhibitor PD98059 and the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor inhibitor tyrphostin AG 1478. In contrast, testosterone had no effect on force and increased the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in slow twitch fibres only. From these results we conclude that sex steroids have non-genomic actions in isolated intact mammalian skeletal muscle fibres. These are mediated through the EGF receptor and one of their main physiological functions is the enhancement of force production in fast twitch skeletal muscle fibres.

  6. Xenopus egg cytoplasm with intact actin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Field, Christine M; Nguyen, Phuong A; Ishihara, Keisuke; Groen, Aaron C; Mitchison, Timothy J

    2014-01-01

    We report optimized methods for preparing Xenopus egg extracts without cytochalasin D, that we term "actin-intact egg extract." These are undiluted egg cytoplasm that contains abundant organelles, and glycogen which supplies energy, and represents the least perturbed cell-free cytoplasm preparation we know of. We used this system to probe cell cycle regulation of actin and myosin-II dynamics (Field et al., 2011), and to reconstitute the large, interphase asters that organize early Xenopus embryos (Mitchison et al., 2012; Wühr, Tan, Parker, Detrich, & Mitchison, 2010). Actin-intact Xenopus egg extracts are useful for analysis of actin dynamics, and interaction of actin with other cytoplasmic systems, in a cell-free system that closely mimics egg physiology, and more generally for probing the biochemistry and biophysics of the egg, zygote, and early embryo. Detailed protocols are provided along with assays used to check cell cycle state and tips for handling and storing undiluted egg extracts. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Assessment of geomechanical properties of intact Opalinus Clay - Expert report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amann, F.; Vogelhuber, M.

    2015-11-01

    This comprehensive report published by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI presents an expert report published on the assessment of the geomechanical properties of intact Opalinus Clay. This review report addresses the conceptual constitutive framework for repositories in Opalinus Clay. The author addresses the geomechanical fundamentals that are necessary in order to adequately judge experiments on intact Opalinus Clay and the interpretation of the results. The report assesses in detail the various test series on intact Opalinus Clay carried out along with the interpretations made by experts and NAGRA. Further assessments are quoted including those on sample geometries tested, effective strength properties, undrained shear strength properties and elastic properties. The results of work done by other experts are also presented and discussed. The report is completed with a list of relevant literature

  8. Assessment of geomechanical properties of intact Opalinus Clay - Expert report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amann, F. [Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule ETHZ, Zürich (Switzerland); Vogelhuber, M. [Dr. von Moos AG, Geotechnisches Büro, Zürich (Switzerland)

    2015-11-15

    This comprehensive report published by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI presents an expert report published on the assessment of the geomechanical properties of intact Opalinus Clay. This review report addresses the conceptual constitutive framework for repositories in Opalinus Clay. The author addresses the geomechanical fundamentals that are necessary in order to adequately judge experiments on intact Opalinus Clay and the interpretation of the results. The report assesses in detail the various test series on intact Opalinus Clay carried out along with the interpretations made by experts and NAGRA. Further assessments are quoted including those on sample geometries tested, effective strength properties, undrained shear strength properties and elastic properties. The results of work done by other experts are also presented and discussed. The report is completed with a list of relevant literature.

  9. Genistein exposure inhibits growth and alters steroidogenesis in adult mouse antral follicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patel, Shreya; Peretz, Jackye; Pan, Yuan-Xiang; Helferich, William G.; Flaws, Jodi A.

    2016-01-01

    Genistein is a naturally occurring isoflavone phytoestrogen commonly found in plant products such as soybeans, lentils, and chickpeas. Genistein, like other phytoestrogens, has the potential to mimic, enhance, or impair the estradiol biosynthesis pathway, thereby potentially altering ovarian follicle growth. Previous studies have inconsistently indicated that genistein exposure may alter granulosa cell proliferation and hormone production, but no studies have examined the effects of genistein on intact antral follicles. Thus, this study was designed to test the hypothesis that genistein exposure inhibits follicle growth and steroidogenesis in intact antral follicles. To test this hypothesis, antral follicles isolated from CD-1 mice were cultured with vehicle (dimethyl sulfoxide; DMSO) or genistein (6.0 and 36 μM) for 18–96 h. Every 24 h, follicle diameters were measured to assess growth. At the end of each culture period, the media were pooled to measure hormone levels, and the cultured follicles were collected to measure expression of cell cycle regulators and steroidogenic enzymes. The results indicate that genistein (36 μM) inhibits growth of mouse antral follicles. Additionally, genistein (6.0 and 36 μM) increases progesterone, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels, but decreases estrone and estradiol levels. The results also indicate that genistein alters the expression of steroidogenic enzymes at 24, 72 and 96 h, and the expression of cell cycle regulators at 18 h. These data indicate that genistein exposure inhibits antral follicle growth by inhibiting the cell cycle, alters sex steroid hormone levels, and dysregulates steroidogenic enzymes in cultured mouse antral follicles. - Highlights: • Genistein exposure inhibits antral follicle growth. • Genistein exposure alters expression of cell cycle regulators. • Genistein exposure alters sex steroid hormones. • Genistein exposure alters expression of steroidogenic enzymes.

  10. Genistein exposure inhibits growth and alters steroidogenesis in adult mouse antral follicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Patel, Shreya, E-mail: Shreya.patel214@gmail.com [Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois, 2001 S. Lincoln Ave, Urbana, IL 61802 (United States); Peretz, Jackye, E-mail: Jackye.peretz@gmail.com [Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois, 2001 S. Lincoln Ave, Urbana, IL 61802 (United States); Pan, Yuan-Xiang, E-mail: yxpan@illinois.edu [Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, 905 S. Goodwin, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Helferich, William G., E-mail: helferic@illinois.edu [Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, 905 S. Goodwin, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Flaws, Jodi A., E-mail: jflaws@illinois.edu [Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois, 2001 S. Lincoln Ave, Urbana, IL 61802 (United States)

    2016-02-15

    Genistein is a naturally occurring isoflavone phytoestrogen commonly found in plant products such as soybeans, lentils, and chickpeas. Genistein, like other phytoestrogens, has the potential to mimic, enhance, or impair the estradiol biosynthesis pathway, thereby potentially altering ovarian follicle growth. Previous studies have inconsistently indicated that genistein exposure may alter granulosa cell proliferation and hormone production, but no studies have examined the effects of genistein on intact antral follicles. Thus, this study was designed to test the hypothesis that genistein exposure inhibits follicle growth and steroidogenesis in intact antral follicles. To test this hypothesis, antral follicles isolated from CD-1 mice were cultured with vehicle (dimethyl sulfoxide; DMSO) or genistein (6.0 and 36 μM) for 18–96 h. Every 24 h, follicle diameters were measured to assess growth. At the end of each culture period, the media were pooled to measure hormone levels, and the cultured follicles were collected to measure expression of cell cycle regulators and steroidogenic enzymes. The results indicate that genistein (36 μM) inhibits growth of mouse antral follicles. Additionally, genistein (6.0 and 36 μM) increases progesterone, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels, but decreases estrone and estradiol levels. The results also indicate that genistein alters the expression of steroidogenic enzymes at 24, 72 and 96 h, and the expression of cell cycle regulators at 18 h. These data indicate that genistein exposure inhibits antral follicle growth by inhibiting the cell cycle, alters sex steroid hormone levels, and dysregulates steroidogenic enzymes in cultured mouse antral follicles. - Highlights: • Genistein exposure inhibits antral follicle growth. • Genistein exposure alters expression of cell cycle regulators. • Genistein exposure alters sex steroid hormones. • Genistein exposure alters expression of steroidogenic enzymes.

  11. Altered ingestive behavior, weight changes, and intact olfactory sense in an APP overexpression model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vloeberghs, Ellen; Van Dam, Debby; Franck, Frieda; Serroyen, Jan; Geert, Molenberghs; Staufenbiel, Matthias; De Deyn, Peter Paul

    2008-06-01

    Transgenic APP23 mice were generated to model Alzheimer's disease. The APP23 model develops pathological features, learning deficits, and memory deficits analogous to dementing patients. In this report, transgenic mice exhibited several behavioral disturbances indicating the presence of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia. Aiming to verify whether the model also develops other behavioral problems, the authors investigated ingestive behavior in APP23 males of 3, 6 and 12 months. In addition, body weights of a naive male group were longitudinally monitored starting at weaning. Olfactory acuity was evaluated in mice of different age groups. Although olfactory functioning of APP23 mice appeared intact, they drank more and took more food pellets compared with wild-type littermates during a 1-week registration period. From the age of 4.5 weeks onward, APP23 males weighed significantly less than their control littermates, whereas this difference became more prominent with increasing age. Our results suggest the presence of a hypermetabolic state in this model. This is the first report, evidencing the presence of changes in eating and drinking behavior in a single transgenic Alzheimer mouse model. (Copyright) 2008 APA, all rights reserved.

  12. Gene : CBRC-MMUS-06-0060 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-MMUS-06-0060 6 A Pheromone receptors V1A16_RAT 2e-54 41% ref|NP_598937.1| vomeronasa...l 1 receptor, C21 [Mus musculus] gb|AAL47882.1| vomeronasal receptor V1RC21 [Mus musculus] gb|AAI32387.1| Vomeronasa...-length enriched library, clone:C230065D10 product:similar to VOMERONASAL RECEPTOR V1RC3 [Mus musculus], ful

  13. Self-etching adhesive on intact enamel, with and without pre-etching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devarasa, G M; Subba Reddy, V V; Chaitra, N L; Swarna, Y M

    2012-05-01

    Bond strengths of composite resin to enamel using self-etch adhesive (SEA) Clearfil SE bond system on intact enamel and enamel pre-etched with phosphoric acid were compared. The objective was to determine if the pre-etching would increase the bond strengths of the SEA systems to intact enamel and to evaluate the effect of pre-etching on bond formation of self-etch adhesives on intact enamel. Labial surfaces of 40 caries free permanent upper central and lateral incisors were cleaned, sectioned of their roots. All specimens were mounted on acrylic block and divided randomly into four groups. In two groups the application of self-etch adhesive, Clearfil SE bond was carried as per manufacturer's instructions, composite cylinders were built, whereas in the other two groups, 37% phosphoric acid etching was done before the application of self-etching adhesives. Then the resin tags were analyzed using scanning electron microscope and shear bond strength was measured using Instron universal testing machine. When phosphoric acid was used, there was significant increase in the depth of penetration of resin tags and in the Shear Bond Strength of composite to enamel. The results indicate that out of both treatment groups, pre-etching the intact enamel with 37% phosphoric acid resulted in formation of longer resin tags and higher depth of penetration of resin tags of the Clearfil SE bond, and attaining higher bond strength of the Clearfil SE bond to intact enamel. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. Neural activation differences in amputees during imitation of intact versus amputee movements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William F Cusack

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The mirror neuron system has been attributed with increased activation in motor-related cortical areas upon viewing of another’s actions. Recent work suggests that limb movements that are similar and dissimilar in appearance to that of the viewer equivalently activate the mirror neuron system. It is unclear if this result can be observed in the action encoding areas in amputees who use prosthetic devices. Intact subjects and upper extremity amputee prosthesis users were recruited to view video demonstrations of tools being used by an intact actor and a prosthetic device user. All subjects were asked to pantomime the movements seen in the video while recording electroencephalography. Intact subjects showed equivalent left parietofrontal activity during imitation after watching the intact or prosthetic arm. Likewise, when prosthesis users imitated prosthesis demonstrations, typical left parietofrontal activation was observed during planning. When prosthesis users imitated intact actors, a new pattern was revealed which showed greater bilateral parietal and occipital activity during movement planning (p<0.001. This change may be required for prosthesis users to imitate movements in which the limb states between the observed and the observer do not match. The finding that prosthesis users imitating other prosthesis users showed typical left parietofrontal activation suggests that these subjects engage normal planning related activity when they are able to imitate a limb matching their own. This result has significant implications on rehabilitation, as standard therapy involves training with an intact occupational therapist, which could necessitate atypical planning mechanisms in amputees when learning to use their prosthesis.

  15. The Multilevel Mixed Intact Group Analysis: A Mixed Method to Seek, Detect, Describe and Explain Differences Between Intact Groups

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schoonenboom, J.I.

    2014-01-01

    Educational innovations often involve intact subgroups, such as school classes or university departments. In small-scale educational evaluation research, typically involving 1 to 20 subgroups, differences among these subgroups are often neglected. This article presents a mixed method from a

  16. Threats to intact tropical peatlands and opportunities for their conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roucoux, K H; Lawson, I T; Baker, T R; Del Castillo Torres, D; Draper, F C; Lähteenoja, O; Gilmore, M P; Honorio Coronado, E N; Kelly, T J; Mitchard, E T A; Vriesendorp, C F

    2017-12-01

    Large, intact areas of tropical peatland are highly threatened at a global scale by the expansion of commercial agriculture and other forms of economic development. Conserving peatlands on a landscape scale, with their hydrology intact, is of international conservation importance to preserve their distinctive biodiversity and ecosystem services and maintain their resilience to future environmental change. We explored threats to and opportunities for conserving remaining intact tropical peatlands; thus, we excluded peatlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, where extensive deforestation, drainage, and conversion to plantations means conservation in this region can protect only small fragments of the original ecosystem. We focused on a case study, the Pastaza-Marañón Foreland Basin (PMFB) in Peru, which is among the largest known intact tropical peatland landscapes in the world and is representative of peatland vulnerability. Maintenance of the hydrological conditions critical for carbon storage and ecosystem function of peatlands is, in the PMFB, primarily threatened by expansion of commercial agriculture linked to new transport infrastructure that is facilitating access to remote areas. There remain opportunities in the PMFB and elsewhere to develop alternative, more sustainable land-use practices. Although some of the peatlands in the PMFB fall within existing legally protected areas, this protection does not include the most carbon-dense (domed pole forest) areas. New carbon-based conservation instruments (e.g., REDD+, Green Climate Fund), developing markets for sustainable peatland products, transferring land title to local communities, and expanding protected areas offer pathways to increased protection for intact tropical peatlands in Amazonia and elsewhere, such as those in New Guinea and Central Africa which remain, for the moment, broadly beyond the frontier of commercial development. © 2017 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

  17. Epispadias in boys with an intact prepuce

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bos, E. M. E.; Kuijper, C. F.; Chrzan, R. J.; Dik, P.; Klijn, A. J.; de Jong, T. P. V. M.

    2014-01-01

    To present an overview of the clinical presentation and pathological anatomy, and the results of surgical correction of 7 cases of epispadias with intact prepuce; a rare condition that has only occasionally been reported in literature. A retrospective search was performed in the surgical and

  18. HYDROCARBON VAPOR DIFFUSION IN INTACT CORE SLEEVES

    Science.gov (United States)

    The diffusion of 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (TMP) and 2,2,5-trimethylhexane (TMH) vapors put of residually contaminated sandy soil from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) field research site at Traverse City, Michigan, was measured and modeled. The headspace of an intact ...

  19. Digested BLG can induce tolerance when co-administered with intact BLG in Brown Norway rats

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bøgh, Katrine Lindholm; Barkholt, Vibeke; Madsen, Charlotte Bernhard

    the human gastro-duodenal digestion process. Four different fractions of BLG-digest was made, based on sizes of peptides or aggregates hereof. Intact BLG and the four fractions of BLG-digesta were characterized by protein chemical analyses. Brown Norway (BN) rats were immunised i.p. three times without......Background: Milk is a major constituent of small children’s diet. Milk allergy is also one of the most common allergies in small children. Prevention, treatment and general understanding of this allergy are therefore important. Methods: Intact BLG was digested in an in vitro model simulating...... the use of adjuvant with either PBS (control), 200 µg of intact BLG, 30 µg of intact BLG, 200 µg of digested BLG (with 30 µg of intact BLG), 200 µg of digested BLG, 200 µg of a fraction of large complexes or 200 µg of a fraction of small complexes (all three without intact BLG). Sera from BN rats were...

  20. Augmentation of Antitumor Immunity by Human and Mouse CAR T Cells Secreting IL-18

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Biliang Hu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The effects of transgenically encoded human and mouse IL-18 on T cell proliferation and its application in boosting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR T cells are presented. Robust enhancement of proliferation of IL-18-secreting human T cells occurred in a xenograft model, and this was dependent on TCR and IL-18R signaling. IL-18 augmented IFN-γ secretion and proliferation of T cells activated by the endogenous TCR. TCR-deficient, human IL-18-expressing CD19 CAR T cells exhibited enhanced proliferation and antitumor activity in the xenograft model. Antigen-propelled activation of cytokine helper ensemble (APACHE CAR T cells displayed inducible expression of IL-18 and enhanced antitumor immunity. In an intact mouse tumor model, CD19-IL-18 CAR T cells induced deeper B cell aplasia, significantly enhanced CAR T cell proliferation, and effectively augmented antitumor effects in mice with B16F10 melanoma. These findings point to a strategy to develop universal CAR T cells for patients with solid tumors.

  1. Intacting Integrity in coping with health issues

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jepsen, Stine Leegaard; Bastrup Jørgensen, Lene; Fridlund, Bengt

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to develop a formal substantive theory (FST) on the multidimensional behavioral process of coping with health issues. Intacting integrity while coping with health issues emerged as the core category of this FST. People facing health issues strive to safeguard and keep...

  2. Visual speech alters the discrimination and identification of non-intact auditory speech in children with hearing loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F; McAlpine, Rachel P; Abdi, Hervé

    2017-03-01

    Understanding spoken language is an audiovisual event that depends critically on the ability to discriminate and identify phonemes yet we have little evidence about the role of early auditory experience and visual speech on the development of these fundamental perceptual skills. Objectives of this research were to determine 1) how visual speech influences phoneme discrimination and identification; 2) whether visual speech influences these two processes in a like manner, such that discrimination predicts identification; and 3) how the degree of hearing loss affects this relationship. Such evidence is crucial for developing effective intervention strategies to mitigate the effects of hearing loss on language development. Participants were 58 children with early-onset sensorineural hearing loss (CHL, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs) and 58 children with normal hearing (CNH, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs). Test items were consonant-vowel (CV) syllables and nonwords with intact visual speech coupled to non-intact auditory speech (excised onsets) as, for example, an intact consonant/rhyme in the visual track (Baa or Baz) coupled to non-intact onset/rhyme in the auditory track (/-B/aa or/-B/az). The items started with an easy-to-speechread/B/or difficult-to-speechread/G/onset and were presented in the auditory (static face) vs. audiovisual (dynamic face) modes. We assessed discrimination for intact vs. non-intact different pairs (e.g., Baa:/-B/aa). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more same-as opposed to different-responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. We assessed identification by repetition of nonwords with non-intact onsets (e.g.,/-B/az). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more Baz-as opposed to az- responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. Performance in the audiovisual mode showed more same

  3. Visual Speech Alters the Discrimination and Identification of Non-Intact Auditory Speech in Children with Hearing Loss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F.; McAlpine, Rachel P.; Abdi, Hervé

    2017-01-01

    Objectives Understanding spoken language is an audiovisual event that depends critically on the ability to discriminate and identify phonemes yet we have little evidence about the role of early auditory experience and visual speech on the development of these fundamental perceptual skills. Objectives of this research were to determine 1) how visual speech influences phoneme discrimination and identification; 2) whether visual speech influences these two processes in a like manner, such that discrimination predicts identification; and 3) how the degree of hearing loss affects this relationship. Such evidence is crucial for developing effective intervention strategies to mitigate the effects of hearing loss on language development. Methods Participants were 58 children with early-onset sensorineural hearing loss (CHL, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs) and 58 children with normal hearing (CNH, 53% girls, M = 9;4 yrs). Test items were consonant-vowel (CV) syllables and nonwords with intact visual speech coupled to non-intact auditory speech (excised onsets) as, for example, an intact consonant/rhyme in the visual track (Baa or Baz) coupled to non-intact onset/rhyme in the auditory track (/–B/aa or /–B/az). The items started with an easy-to-speechread /B/ or difficult-to-speechread /G/ onset and were presented in the auditory (static face) vs. audiovisual (dynamic face) modes. We assessed discrimination for intact vs. non-intact different pairs (e.g., Baa:/–B/aa). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more same—as opposed to different—responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. We assessed identification by repetition of nonwords with non-intact onsets (e.g., /–B/az). We predicted that visual speech would cause the non-intact onset to be perceived as intact and would therefore generate more Baz—as opposed to az— responses in the audiovisual than auditory mode. Results

  4. Performance of intact and castrated beef cattle in an intensive croppasture rotation system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tercilio Turini

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This research had as objective to evaluate the performance of intact or castrated beef cattle in a croppasture rotation system. The experiment was conducted during 2004 and 2005, and carried out at the Cooperativa Agropecuária Mourãoense (COAMO Experimental Farm, in Campo Mourão city, Paraná state. It was used a completely randomized design, with two treatments, intact or castrated. Forty ½Angus+½Nelore crossbred animals, with average age of nine months, were used. Half of the animals were castrated at weaning, and the other half was kept intact. Pasture was composed of two areas. The winter field, established after soybean crop, was composed by a mixture of black oat (Avena strigosa and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiforum. The summer field was composed by stargrass (Cynodon nlemfuensis and Mombaça grass (Panicum maximum. During the winter time it was used a continues grazing system, with regulator animals (put and take, and during the summer an intensive rotational system, with regulator animals and fixed grazing period. Intact animals presented higher average daily weight gain (0.907 vs 0.698 kg, slaughter weight (490.9 vs 442.2 kg, and hot carcass weight (250.2 vs 232.6 kg. Slaughter age was influenced by sexual condition, being lesser in the intact animals. Carcass dressing percentage was similar for the groups. Castrated animals showed better finishing fat cover and backfat thickness (3.45 vs 2.70 mm compared to intact ones. Therefore, it can be concluded that intact animals presents better performance than castrated ones when finished in an intensive crop-pasture rotation system, however, they may not present the minimum required fat cover, when slaughter at young ages.

  5. Cholesteatoma behind an intact tympanic membrane: histopathologic evidence for a tympanic membrane origin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sudhoff, H; Linthicum, F H

    2001-07-01

    Several theories have been proposed with respect to the origin and pathogenesis of cholesteatoma behind an intact tympanic membrane. The authors describe a case of cholesteatoma behind an intact tympanic membrane in a 71-year-old man with a history of tympanic membrane retraction fixed to the incus without evidence of a perforation. The membrane eventually became detached, and remnants of keratinizing squamous epithelium were found on the incus. Mechanisms such as metaplasia, ectopic epidermis rests, or ingrowth of meatal epidermis have been proposed to explain the pathogenesis of cholesteatoma behind an intact tympanic membrane. These findings, based on temporal bone histopathology, support the role of an acquired epidermal rest. This case report provides evidence that cholesteatoma behind an intact tympanic membrane can be established from a resolved retraction of the pars tensa of the tympanic membrane.

  6. The Multilevel Mixed Intact Group Analysis: A Mixed Method to Seek, Detect, Describe, and Explain Differences Among Intact Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoonenboom, Judith

    2016-01-01

    Educational innovations often involve intact subgroups, such as school classes or university departments. In small-scale educational evaluation research, typically involving 1 to 20 subgroups, differences among these subgroups are often neglected. This article presents a mixed method from a qualitative perspective, in which differences among…

  7. Structural determination of intact proteins using mass spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruppa, Gary [San Francisco, CA; Schoeniger, Joseph S [Oakland, CA; Young, Malin M [Livermore, CA

    2008-05-06

    The present invention relates to novel methods of determining the sequence and structure of proteins. Specifically, the present invention allows for the analysis of intact proteins within a mass spectrometer. Therefore, preparatory separations need not be performed prior to introducing a protein sample into the mass spectrometer. Also disclosed herein are new instrumental developments for enhancing the signal from the desired modified proteins, methods for producing controlled protein fragments in the mass spectrometer, eliminating complex microseparations, and protein preparatory chemical steps necessary for cross-linking based protein structure determination.Additionally, the preferred method of the present invention involves the determination of protein structures utilizing a top-down analysis of protein structures to search for covalent modifications. In the preferred method, intact proteins are ionized and fragmented within the mass spectrometer.

  8. Gene : CBRC-RNOR-04-0153 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available CBRC-RNOR-04-0153 4 A Pheromone receptors V1A16_RAT 1e-51 40% ref|NP_001009531.1| vomeronasa...l V1r-type receptor V1rc40 [Rattus norvegicus] gb|AAR87997.1| vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rc40 ...[Rattus norvegicus] 1e-169 100% gnl|UG|Rn#S22668978 Rattus norvegicus vomeronasal V1r-type receptor V1rc40 m...LSVFQAITISPSTSLMARFKHKLKRYVINALFYIWVFNLSASSDAILSVGGFTNVSEIKQVKITKTCSLFPMNYIIRGLTFILSSSRDVFFVGVMLNASAYMVIILHR

  9. How can we conserve intact tropical peatlands?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Ian; Roucoux, Katherine

    2017-04-01

    The scientific community has, for more than three decades, been expressing increasing alarm about the fate of peatlands in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia, where extensive land-use conversion and drainage for rice and oil palm have greatly compromised peatland hydrology, ecology, biological richness, and carbon storage. The discourse in the literature on these peatlands is now moving on from attempts to preserve the last remaining fragments of peat-swamp forest, towards discussion of how best to restore damaged ecosystems, and whether it is possible to manage plantations more 'sustainably'. It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that peatlands occur quite widely in other parts of the lowland tropics, including parts of Amazonia and the Congo Basin, and many of these peatlands can reasonably be described as 'intact': although few if any parts of the tropics are totally unaffected by human actions, the hydrology and functional ecology of these systems appear to be close to a 'natural' state. The question then arises as to what should be done with the knowledge of their existence. Here we analyse the arguments in favour of protecting intact peatlands, and the potential conflicts with other priorities such as economic development and social justice. We evaluate alternative mechanisms for protecting intact peatlands, focusing on the particular issues raised by peatlands as opposed to other kinds of tropical ecosystem. We identify ways in which natural science agendas can help to inform these arguments, using our own contributions in palaeoecology and carbon mapping as examples. Finally, we argue for a radical reconsideration of research agendas in tropical peatlands, highlighting the potential contribution of methodologies borrowed from the social sciences and humanities.

  10. Differences between Mycobacterium-Host Cell Relationships in Latent Tuberculous Infection of Mice Ex Vivo and Mycobacterial Infection of Mouse Cells In Vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Ufimtseva

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The search for factors that account for the reproduction and survival of mycobacteria, including vaccine strains, in host cells is the priority for studies on tuberculosis. A comparison of BCG-mycobacterial loads in granuloma cells obtained from bone marrow and spleens of mice with latent tuberculous infection and cells from mouse bone marrow and peritoneal macrophage cultures infected with the BCG vaccine in vitro has demonstrated that granuloma macrophages each normally contained a single BCG-Mycobacterium, while those acutely infected in vitro had increased mycobacterial loads and death rates. Mouse granuloma cells were observed to produce the IFNγ, IL-1α, GM-CSF, CD1d, CD25, CD31, СD35, and S100 proteins. None of these activation markers were found in mouse cell cultures infected in vitro or in intact macrophages. Lack of colocalization of lipoarabinomannan-labeled BCG-mycobacteria with the lysosomotropic LysoTracker dye in activated granuloma macrophages suggests that these macrophages were unable to destroy BCG-mycobacteria. However, activated mouse granuloma macrophages could control mycobacterial reproduction in cells both in vivo and in ex vivo culture. By contrast, a considerable increase in the number of BCG-mycobacteria was observed in mouse bone marrow and peritoneal macrophages after BCG infection in vitro, when no expression of the activation-related molecules was detected in these cells.

  11. (Photosynthesis in intact plants)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1990-01-01

    Progress in the two years since the last renewal application has been excellent. We have made substantial contributions on both main fronts of the projects, and are particularly happy with the progress of our research on intact plants. The approach of basing our field work on a sound foundation of laboratory studies has enabled is to use methods which provide unambiguous assays of well characterized reactions. We have also made excellent progress in several laboratory studies which will have direct applications in future field work, and have introduced to the laboratory a range of molecular genetics techniques which will allow us to explore new options in the attempt to understand function at the level of molecular structure.

  12. Does human leukocyte elastase degrade intact skin elastin?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmelzer, Christian E H; Jung, Michael C; Wohlrab, Johannes

    2012-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the susceptibility of intact fibrillar human elastin to human leukocyte elastase and cathepsin G. Elastin is a vital protein of the extracellular matrix of vertebrates, and provides exceptional properties including elasticity and tensile strength to many tissues...... and organs, including the aorta, lung, cartilage, elastic ligaments and skin, and is thus critical for their long-term function. Mature elastin is an insoluble and extremely durable protein that undergoes very little turnover, but sustained exposure to proteases may lead to irreversible and severe damage......, and thus to functional loss of the elastic fiber network. Hence, it is a key issue to understand which enzymes actually initiate elastolysis under certain pathological conditions or during intrinsic aging. In this paper, we provide a complete workflow for isolation of pure and intact elastin from very...

  13. DNA synthesis in periportal and perivenous hepatocytes of intact and hepatectomized young mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Blanco, A; Inda, A M; Errecalde, A L

    2015-01-01

    DNA synthesis of hepatocytes in two areas of Intact and Hepatectomized young mice liver along a circadian period was studied. DNA synthesis was significantly different at all analyzed time points in Intact and Hepatectomized animals. Differences between periportal and perivenous hepatocytes were found in hepatectomized animals at 04/42 and 08/46 hr of day/hour post-hepatectomy. DNAs peak in periportal hepatocytes regenerating liver occurs 4 hr earlier than in perivenous hepatocytes, probably reflecting their shorter G1 phase. Besides, daily mean values of regenerating livers were higher than those observed in Intact animals, as a consequence of surgical removal.

  14. Multi-Axis Prosthetic Knee Resembles Alpine Skiing Movements of an Intact Leg

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demšar, Ivan; Duhovnik, Jože; Lešnik, Blaž; Supej, Matej

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to analyse the flexion angles of the ski boot, ankle and knee joints of an above-knee prosthesis and to compare them with an intact leg and a control group of skiers. One subject with an above-knee amputation of the right leg and eight healthy subjects simulated the movement of a skiing turn by performing two-leg squats in laboratory conditions. By adding additional loads in proportion to body weight (BW; +1/3 BW, +2/3 BW, +3/3 BW), various skiing regimes were simulated. Change of Flexion Angle (CoFA) and Range of Motion (RoM) in the ski boot, ankle and knee joints were calculated and compared. An average RoM in the skiing boot on the side of prosthesis (4.4 ± 1.1°) was significantly lower compared to an intact leg (5.9 ± 1.8°) and the control group (6.5 ± 2.3°). In the ankle joint, the average RoM was determined to be 13.2±2.9° in the prosthesis, 12.7 ± 2.8° in an intact leg and 14.8±3.6 in the control group. However, the RoM of the knee joint in the prosthesis (42.2 ± 4.2°) was significantly larger than that of the intact leg (34.7 ± 4.4°). The average RoM of the knee joint in the control group was 47.8 ± 5.4°. The influences of additional loads on the kinematics of the lower extremities were different on the side of the prosthesis and on the intact leg. In contrast, additional loads did not produce any significant differences in the control group. Although different CoFAs in the ski boot, ankle and knee joints were used, an above-knee prosthesis with a built-in multi-axis prosthetic knee enables comparable leg kinematics in simulated alpine skiing. Key points The RoM in the ski boot on the side of the prosthetic leg was smaller than the RoM of the intact leg and the control group of healthy subjects. The RoM in the ankle joint of prosthetic leg was comparable to that of the intact leg and the control group of healthy subjects. The RoM in the prosthetic knee joint was greater than the RoM in the knee joint of the

  15. Antimicrobial activity of a new intact skin antisepsis formulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Antonello; Viotti, Pier Luigi; Vitali, Matteo; Clementi, Massimo

    2003-04-01

    Different antiseptic formulations have shown limitations when applied to disinfecting intact skin, notably short-term tolerability and/or efficacy. The purpose of this study was optimizing a new antiseptic formulation specifically targeted at intact skin disinfection and evaluating its in vitro microbicidal activity and in vivo efficacy. The biocidal properties of the antiseptic solution containing 0.5% chloramine-T diluted in 50% isopropyl alcohol (Cloral; Eurospital SpA Trieste, Italy) were measured in vitro versus gram-positive-, gram-negative-, and acid-alcohol-resistant germs and fungi with standard suspension tests in the presence of fetal bovine serum. Virus-inhibiting activity was evaluated in vitro against human cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, poliovirus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus. Tests used different methods for the different biologic and in vitro replication capacity of these human viruses. Lastly, Cloral tolerability and skin colonization retardation efficacy after disinfection were studied in vivo. The antiseptic under review showed fast and sustained antimicrobial activity. The efficacy of Cloral against clinically important bacterial and viral pathogens and fungi was highlighted under the experimental conditions described in this article. Finally, microbial regrowth lag and no side effects were documented in vivo after disinfection of 11 volunteers. A stable chloramine-T solution in isopropyl alcohol may be suggested for intact skin antisepsis.

  16. Investigation of Mitochondrial Dysfunction by Sequential Microplate-Based Respiration Measurements from Intact and Permeabilized Neurons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clerc, Pascaline; Polster, Brian M.

    2012-01-01

    Mitochondrial dysfunction is a component of many neurodegenerative conditions. Measurement of oxygen consumption from intact neurons enables evaluation of mitochondrial bioenergetics under conditions that are more physiologically realistic compared to isolated mitochondria. However, mechanistic analysis of mitochondrial function in cells is complicated by changing energy demands and lack of substrate control. Here we describe a technique for sequentially measuring respiration from intact and saponin-permeabilized cortical neurons on single microplates. This technique allows control of substrates to individual electron transport chain complexes following permeabilization, as well as side-by-side comparisons to intact cells. To illustrate the utility of the technique, we demonstrate that inhibition of respiration by the drug KB-R7943 in intact neurons is relieved by delivery of the complex II substrate succinate, but not by complex I substrates, via acute saponin permeabilization. In contrast, methyl succinate, a putative cell permeable complex II substrate, failed to rescue respiration in intact neurons and was a poor complex II substrate in permeabilized cells. Sequential measurements of intact and permeabilized cell respiration should be particularly useful for evaluating indirect mitochondrial toxicity due to drugs or cellular signaling events which cannot be readily studied using isolated mitochondria. PMID:22496810

  17. Functional studies of signaling pathways in peri-implantation development of the mouse embryo by RNAi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bell Graham

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Studies of gene function in the mouse have relied mainly on gene targeting via homologous recombination. However, this approach is difficult to apply in specific windows of time, and to simultaneously knock-down multiple genes. Here we report an efficient method for dsRNA-mediated gene silencing in late cleavage-stage mouse embryos that permits examination of phenotypes at post-implantation stages. Results We show that introduction of Bmp4 dsRNA into intact blastocysts by electroporation recapitulates the genetic Bmp4 null phenotype at gastrulation. It also reveals a novel role for Bmp4 in the regulation the anterior visceral endoderm specific gene expression and its positioning. We also show that RNAi can be used to simultaneously target several genes. When applied to the three murine isoforms of Dishevelled, it leads to earlier defects than previously observed in double knock-outs. These include severe delays in post-implantation development and defects in the anterior midline and neural folds at headfold stages. Conclusion Our results indicate that the BMP4 signalling pathway contributes to the development of the anterior visceral endoderm, and reveal an early functional redundancy between the products of the murine Dishevelled genes. The proposed approach constitutes a powerful tool to screen the functions of genes that govern the development of the mouse embryo.

  18. Impulse radar scanning of intact salt at the Avery Island Mine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cook, C.W.

    1980-05-01

    A series of experiments was run in the Avery Island Mine to evaluate the capability of an impulse radar to locate anomalies and simulated waste targets in intact dome salt. Voids in salt were difficult to detect. On the positive side, metal targets and simulated waste (glass) were easily located in intact salt. Radar scanning at ranges of greater than 25 meters and short-range resolution of target positions to within a few centimeters were achieved

  19. Performance of intact and partially degraded concrete barriers in limiting fluid flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walton, J.C.; Seitz, R.R.

    1991-07-01

    Concrete barriers will play a critical role in the long-term isolation of low-level radioactive wastes. Over time the barriers will degrade, and in many cases, the fundamental processes controlling performance of the barriers will be different for intact and degraded conditions. This document examines factors controlling fluid flow through intact and degraded concrete disposal facilities. Simplified models are presented fro predicting build up of fluid above a vault; fluid flow through and around intact vaults, through flaws in coatings/liners applied to a vault, and through cracks in a concrete vault; and the influence of different backfill materials around the outside of the vault. Example calculations are presented to illustrate the parameters and processes that influence fluid flow. 46 refs., 49 figs., 2 tabs

  20. Bioavailability and in vivo metabolism of intact glucosinolates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jens Christian; Frandsen, Heidi Blok; Jensen, Søren Krogh

    2016-01-01

    Health benefits associated with consumption of cruciferous vegetables have received considerable attention with a hitherto focus on the role and bioactivity of glucosinolate degradation products. We investigated the in vivo metabolism of intact glucosinolates by following their fate in digesta an...

  1. Genetic rescue of glycosylation-deficient Fgf23 in the Galnt3 knockout mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichikawa, Shoji; Gray, Amie K; Padgett, Leah R; Allen, Matthew R; Clinkenbeard, Erica L; Sarpa, Nicole M; White, Kenneth E; Econs, Michael J

    2014-10-01

    Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is a hormone that inhibits renal phosphate reabsorption and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D biosynthesis. The FGF23 subtilisin-like proprotein convertase recognition sequence ((176)RHTR(179)↓) is protected by O-glycosylation through ppGalNAc-T3 (GALNT3) activity. Thus, inactivating GALNT3 mutations render FGF23 susceptible to proteolysis, thereby reducing circulating intact hormone levels and leading to hyperphosphatemic familial tumoral calcinosis. To further delineate the role of glycosylation in the Fgf23 function, we generated an inducible FGF23 transgenic mouse expressing human mutant FGF23 (R176Q and R179Q) found in patients with autosomal dominant hypophosphatemic rickets (ADHR) and bred this animal to Galnt3 knockout mice, a model of familial tumoral calcinosis. Due to the low intact Fgf23 level, Galnt3 knockout mice with wild-type Fgf23 alleles were hyperphosphatemic. In contrast, carriers of the mutant FGF23 transgene, regardless of Galnt3 mutation status, had significantly higher serum intact FGF23, resulting in severe hypophosphatemia. Importantly, serum phosphorus and FGF23 were comparable between transgenic mice with or without normal Galnt3 alleles. To determine whether the presence of the ADHR mutation could improve biochemical and skeletal abnormalities in Galnt3-null mice, these mice were also mated to Fgf23 knock-in mice, carrying heterozygous or homozygous R176Q ADHR Fgf23 mutations. The knock-in mice with functional Galnt3 had normal Fgf23 but were slightly hypophosphatemic. The stabilized Fgf23 ADHR allele reversed the Galnt3-null phenotype and normalized total Fgf23, serum phosphorus, and bone Fgf23 mRNA. However, the skeletal phenotype was unaffected. In summary, these data demonstrate that O-glycosylation by ppGaINAc-T3 is only necessary for proper secretion of intact Fgf23 and, once secreted, does not affect Fgf23 function. Furthermore, the more stable Fgf23 ADHR mutant protein could normalize serum phosphorus

  2. Centralized mouse repositories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donahue, Leah Rae; Hrabe de Angelis, Martin; Hagn, Michael; Franklin, Craig; Lloyd, K C Kent; Magnuson, Terry; McKerlie, Colin; Nakagata, Naomi; Obata, Yuichi; Read, Stuart; Wurst, Wolfgang; Hörlein, Andreas; Davisson, Muriel T

    2012-10-01

    Because the mouse is used so widely for biomedical research and the number of mouse models being generated is increasing rapidly, centralized repositories are essential if the valuable mouse strains and models that have been developed are to be securely preserved and fully exploited. Ensuring the ongoing availability of these mouse strains preserves the investment made in creating and characterizing them and creates a global resource of enormous value. The establishment of centralized mouse repositories around the world for distributing and archiving these resources has provided critical access to and preservation of these strains. This article describes the common and specialized activities provided by major mouse repositories around the world.

  3. Differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells into cardiomyocytes via the hanging-drop and mass culture methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuegemann, Christopher J; Samraj, Ajoy K; Walsh, Stuart; Fleischmann, Bernd K; Jovinge, Stefan; Breitbach, Martin

    2010-12-01

    Herein, we describe two protocols for the in vitro differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) into cardiomyocytes. mESCs are pluripotent and can be differentiated into cells of all three germ layers, including cardiomyocytes. The methods described here facilitate the differentiation of mESCs into the different cardiac subtypes (atrial-, ventricular-, nodal-like cells). The duration of cell culture determines whether preferentially early- or late-developmental stage cardiomyocytes can be obtained preferentially. This approach allows the investigation of cardiomyocyte development and differentiation in vitro, and also allows for the enrichment and isolation of physiologically intact cardiomyocytes for transplantation purposes. © 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  4. Expression and Purification of Functional Ligand-binding Domains of T1R3 Taste Receptors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nie,Y.; Hobbs, J.; Vigues, S.; Olson, W.; Conn, G.; Munger, S.

    2006-01-01

    Chemosensory receptors, including odor, taste, and vomeronasal receptors, comprise the largest group of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in the mammalian genome. However, little is known about the molecular determinants that are critical for the detection and discrimination of ligands by most of these receptors. This dearth of understanding is due in part to difficulties in preparing functional receptors suitable for biochemical and biophysical analyses. Here we describe in detail two strategies for the expression and purification of the ligand-binding domain of T1R taste receptors, which are constituents of the sweet and umami taste receptors. These class C GPCRs contain a large extracellular N-terminal domain (NTD) that is the site of interaction with most ligands and that is amenable to expression as a separate polypeptide in heterologous cells. The NTD of mouse T1R3 was expressed as two distinct fusion proteins in Escherichia coli and purified by column chromatography. Spectroscopic analysis of the purified NTD proteins shows them to be properly folded and capable of binding ligands. This methodology should not only facilitate the characterization of T1R ligand interactions but may also be useful for dissecting the function of other class C GPCRs such as the large family of orphan V2R vomeronasal receptors.

  5. Occurence of translocations between irradiated and intact chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Myasnyankina, E.N.; Abeleva, Eh.A.; Generalova, M.V.

    1980-01-01

    Two translocations between irradiated father and intact mother autosomes are obtained in Drosophila melanogaster. Five out of 283 regular translocations (between the second and the third chromosomes of an irradiated male) are accompanied by a recombination over the second or the third chromosomes. Nine flies out of twenty considered to be recombinants, could originate due to mutations. The data obtained prove that intact female autosomes can take part in the exchange with homologic (recombinations) and heterologic (translocations) irradiated male autosomes

  6. Direct detection of radicals in intact soybean nodules

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mathieu, C; Moreau, S; Frendo, P

    1998-01-01

    Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy has been employed to examine the nature of the metal ions and radicals present in intact root nodules of soybean plants grown in the absence of nitrate. The spectra obtained from nodules of different ages using this non-invasive technique show dramatic...... differences, suggesting that there are both qualitative and quantitative changes in the metal ion and radical species present. A major component of the spectra obtained from young nodules is assigned to a complex (Lb-NO) of nitric oxide (NO.) with the heme protein leghemoglobin (Lb). This Lb-NO species, which...... has not been previously detected in intact root nodules of plants grown in the absence of nitrate, is thought to be formed by reaction of nitric oxide with iron(II) leghemoglobin. The nitric oxide may be generated from arginine via a nitric oxide synthase-like activity present in the nodules...

  7. Capillary zone electrophoresis-mass spectromet of intact proteins

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Domínguez-Vega, Elena; Haselberg, Rob; Somsen, Govert W.

    2016-01-01

    Capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) has proven to be a powerful analytical tool for the characterization of intact proteins. It combines the high separation efficiency, short analysis time, and versatility of CE with the mass selectivity and sensitivity offered by MS

  8. Losing a jewel—Rapid declines in Myanmar’s intact forests from 2002-2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horning, Ned; Khaing, Thiri; Thein, Zaw Min; Aung, Kyaw Moe; Aung, Kyaw Htet; Phyo, Paing; Tun, Ye Lin; Oo, Aung Htat; Neil, Anthony; Thu, Win Myo; Songer, Melissa; Huang, Qiongyu; Connette, Grant; Leimgruber, Peter

    2017-01-01

    New and rapid political and economic changes in Myanmar are increasing the pressures on the country’s forests. Yet, little is known about the past and current condition of these forests and how fast they are declining. We mapped forest cover in Myanmar through a consortium of international organizations and environmental non-governmental groups, using freely-available public domain data and open source software tools. We used Landsat satellite imagery to assess the condition and spatial distribution of Myanmar’s intact and degraded forests with special focus on changes in intact forest between 2002 and 2014. We found that forests cover 42,365,729 ha or 63% of Myanmar, making it one of the most forested countries in the region. However, severe logging, expanding plantations, and degradation pose increasing threats. Only 38% of the country’s forests can be considered intact with canopy cover >80%. Between 2002 and 2014, intact forests declined at a rate of 0.94% annually, totaling more than 2 million ha forest loss. Losses can be extremely high locally and we identified 9 townships as forest conversion hotspots. We also delineated 13 large (>100,000 ha) and contiguous intact forest landscapes, which are dispersed across Myanmar. The Northern Forest Complex supports four of these landscapes, totaling over 6.1 million ha of intact forest, followed by the Southern Forest Complex with three landscapes, comprising 1.5 million ha. These remaining contiguous forest landscape should have high priority for protection. Our project demonstrates how open source data and software can be used to develop and share critical information on forests when such data are not readily available elsewhere. We provide all data, code, and outputs freely via the internet at (for scripts: https://bitbucket.org/rsbiodiv/; for the data: http://geonode.themimu.info/layers/geonode%3Amyan_lvl2_smoothed_dec2015_resamp) PMID:28520726

  9. Quantitative Analysis of Human Salivary Gland-Derived Intact Proteome Using Top-Down Mass Spectrometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Si; Brown, Joseph N.; Tolic, Nikola; Meng, Da; Liu, Xiaowen; Zhang, Haizhen; Zhao, Rui; Moore, Ronald J.; Pevzner, Pavel A.; Smith, Richard D.; Pasa-Tolic, Ljiljana

    2014-05-31

    There are several notable challenges inherent to fully characterizing the entirety of the human saliva proteome using bottom-up approaches, including polymorphic isoforms, post-translational modifications, unique splice variants, deletions, and truncations. To address these challenges, we have developed a top-down based liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) approach, which cataloged 20 major human salivary proteins with a total of 83 proteoforms, containing a broad range of post-translational modifications. Among these proteins, several previously reported disease biomarker proteins were identified at the intact protein level, such as beta-2 microglobulin (B2M). In addition, intact glycosylated proteoforms of several saliva proteins were also characterized, including intact N-glycosylated protein prolactin inducible protein (PIP) and O-glycosylated acidic protein rich protein (aPRP). These characterized proteoforms constitute an intact saliva proteoform database, which was used for quantitative comparison of intact salivary proteoforms among six healthy individuals. Human parotid (PS) and submandibular/sublingual gland (SMSL) secretion samples (2 μg of protein each) from six healthy individuals were compared using RPLC coupled with the 12T FTICR mass spectrometer. Significantly different protein and PTM patterns were resolved with high reproducibility between PS and SMSL glands. The results from this study provide further insight into the potential mechanisms of PTM pathways in oral glandular secretion, expanding our knowledge of this complex yet easily accessible fluid. Intact protein LC-MS approach presented herein can potentially be applied for rapid and accurate identification of biomarkers from only a few microliters of human glandular saliva.

  10. Androgen receptor levels during progression of prostate cancer in the transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krisna Murti

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Aim To construct tissue microarrays (TMAs that consisted of prostate tumours from the transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate (TRAMP mice and non-transgenic murine prostates and to assess androgen receptor (AR levels during progression of prostate cancer in TRAMP mice by immunohistochemistry.Methods Haematoxylin and eosin (H&E sections from the ventral and dorso-lateral prostate lobes of non-transgenic, intact TRAMP and castrated TRAMP were used to demarcate regions of interest for TMAs construction. The samples on TMAs were used to evaluate AR expression using video image analysis (VIA.Results AR was expressed during cancer progression, but AR levels were reduced or absent in late stage disease. Furthermore, when AR levels were compared in tumours from intact and castrate animals, a significant increase in AR levels was observed following androgen ablation.Conclusion Similar to clinical prostate cancer, in the TRAMP model, prostate tumours evolve mechanisms to maintain AR expression and AR responsive gene pathways following castration to facilitate continued tumour growth. (Med J Indones 2010; 19:5-13Keywords : androgen ablation therapy, tissue microarrays, haematoxylin and eosin, video image analysis

  11. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy for predicting amino acids content in intact processed animal proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De la Haba, Maria José; Garrido-Varo, Ana; Guerrero-Ginel, José Emilio; Pérez-Marín, Dolores C

    2006-10-04

    Near-infrared calibrations were developed for the instantaneous prediction of amino acids composition of processed animal proteins (PAPs). Two sample presentation modes were compared (ground vs intact) for demonstrating the viability of the analysis in the intact form, avoiding the need for milling. Modified partial least-squares (MPLS) equations for the prediction of amino acids in PAPs were developed using the same set of samples (N = 92 PAPs) analyzed in ground and intact form and in three cups differing in the optical window size. The standard error for cross validation (SECV) and the coefficient of determination (1-VR) values yielded with the calibrations developed using the samples analyzed in the intact form showed similar or even better accuracy than those obtained with finely ground samples. The excellent predictive ability (1-VR > 0.90; CV marketing of these important protein feed ingredients, alleviating the costs and time associated with the routine quality controls.

  12. Impact of physiological variables and genetic background on myocardial frequency-resistivity relations in the intact beating murine heart.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes, Maricela; Steinhelper, Mark E; Alvarez, Jorge A; Escobedo, Daniel; Pearce, John; Valvano, Jonathan W; Pollock, Brad H; Wei, Chia-Ling; Kottam, Anil; Altman, David; Bailey, Steven; Thomsen, Sharon; Lee, Shuko; Colston, James T; Oh, Jung Hwan; Freeman, Gregory L; Feldman, Marc D

    2006-10-01

    Conductance measurements for generation of an instantaneous left ventricular (LV) volume signal in the mouse are limited, because the volume signal is a combination of blood and LV muscle, and only the blood signal is desired. We have developed a conductance system that operates at two simultaneous frequencies to identify and remove the myocardial contribution to the instantaneous volume signal. This system is based on the observation that myocardial resistivity varies with frequency, whereas blood resistivity does not. For calculation of LV blood volume with the dual-frequency conductance system in mice, in vivo murine myocardial resistivity was measured and combined with an analytic approach. The goals of the present study were to identify and minimize the sources of error in the measurement of myocardial resistivity to enhance the accuracy of the dual-frequency conductance system. We extended these findings to a gene-altered mouse model to determine the impact of measured myocardial resistivity on the calculation of LV pressure-volume relations. We examined the impact of temperature, timing of the measurement during the cardiac cycle, breeding strain, anisotropy, and intrameasurement and interanimal variability on the measurement of intact murine myocardial resistivity. Applying this knowledge to diabetic and nondiabetic 11- and 20- to 24-wk-old mice, we demonstrated differences in myocardial resistivity at low frequencies, enhancement of LV systolic function at 11 wk and LV dilation at 20-24 wk, and histological and electron-microscopic studies demonstrating greater glycogen deposition in the diabetic mice. This study demonstrated the accurate technique of measuring myocardial resistivity and its impact on the determination of LV pressure-volume relations in gene-altered mice.

  13. Aboveground Biomass Variability Across Intact and Degraded Forests in the Brazilian Amazon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longo, Marcos; Keller, Michael; Dos-Santos, Maiza N.; Leitold, Veronika; Pinage, Ekena R.; Baccini, Alessandro; Saatchi, Sassan; Nogueira, Euler M.; Batistella, Mateus; Morton, Douglas C.

    2016-01-01

    Deforestation rates have declined in the Brazilian Amazon since 2005, yet degradation from logging, re, and fragmentation has continued in frontier forests. In this study we quantified the aboveground carbon density (ACD) in intact and degraded forests using the largest data set of integrated forest inventory plots (n 359) and airborne lidar data (18,000 ha) assembled to date for the Brazilian Amazon. We developed statistical models relating inventory ACD estimates to lidar metrics that explained70 of the variance across forest types. Airborne lidar-ACD estimates for intact forests ranged between 5.0 +/- 2.5 and 31.9 +/- 10.8 kg C m(exp -2). Degradation carbon losses were large and persistent. Sites that burned multiple times within a decade lost up to 15.0 +/- 0.7 kg C m(-2)(94%) of ACD. Forests that burned nearly15 years ago had between 4.1 +/- 0.5 and 6.8 +/- 0.3 kg C m(exp -2) (22-40%) less ACD than intact forests. Even for low-impact logging disturbances, ACD was between 0.7 +/- 0.3 and 4.4 +/- 0.4 kg C m(exp -2)(4-21%) lower than unlogged forests. Comparing biomass estimates from airborne lidar to existing biomass maps, we found that regional and pan-tropical products consistently overestimated ACD in degraded forests, under-estimated ACD in intact forests, and showed little sensitivity to res and logging. Fine-scale heterogeneity in ACD across intact and degraded forests highlights the benefits of airborne lidar for carbon mapping. Differences between airborne lidar and regional biomass maps underscore the need to improve and update biomass estimates for dynamic land use frontiers, to better characterize deforestation and degradation carbon emissions for regional carbon budgets and Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation(REDD+).

  14. Mouse allergen exposure and immunologic responses: IgE-mediated mouse sensitization and mouse specific IgG and IgG4 levels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Matsui, Elizabeth C.; Krop, Esmeralda J. M.; Diette, Gregory B.; Aalberse, Rob C.; Smith, Abigail L.; Eggleston, Peyton A.

    2004-01-01

    Although there is evidence that contact with mice is associated with IgE-mediated mouse sensitization and mouse specific antibody responses, the exposure-response relationships remain unclear. To determine whether IgE-mediated mouse sensitization and mouse specific IgG (mIgG) and mIgG4 levels

  15. Upper airway CO2 receptors in tegu lizards: localization and ventilatory sensitivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coates, E L; Ballam, G O

    1987-01-01

    1. Tidal volume, end-tidal CO2, and ventilatory frequency in Tupinambis nigropunctatus were measured in response to CO2 (1-4%) delivered to either the mouth or nares. Additionally, the sensitivity of the ventilatory response to nasal CO2 was evaluated at CO2 concentrations less than 1%. The ventilatory parameters were also measured in response to CO2 (1-4%) delivered to the nares after the olfactory peduncle was transected. 2. It was found that (0.4-4%) nasal CO2 depressed ventilatory frequency by 9% to 83% respectively, while tidal volume was not significantly altered. CO2 (1-4%) delivered to the mouth produced no apparent changes in any of the ventilatory parameters. Following transection of the olfactory peduncle, nasal CO2 was ineffective in producing any change in ventilatory frequency or depth. 3. These findings indicate that CO2-sensitive receptors are located in either the nasal or vomeronasal membranes of tegu lizards and that the olfactory peduncle must be intact for these receptors to affect ventilatory changes in response to elevated CO2 concentrations. The receptors are capable of mediating a ventilatory response to CO2 concentrations lower than those found in either expired air or in confined spaces such as occupied burrows. 4. The discrepancies in the ventilatory responses of lizards and snakes to inspired CO2 reported in past experiments may be partially explained by the presence of nasal or vomeronasal CO2-sensitive receptors.

  16. Phosphorylation of intact erythrocytes in human muscular dystrophy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, R.M.; Nigro, M.

    1986-01-01

    The uptake of exogenous 32 Pi into the membrane proteins of intact erythrocytes was measured in 8 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. No abnormalities were noted after autoradiographic analysis. This contrasts with earlier results obtained when isolated membranes were phosphorylated with gamma-[ 32 P]ATP, and suggests a possible reinterpretation of those experiments

  17. Sympathetic Nervous Regulation of Calcium and Action Potential Alternans in the Intact Heart.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winter, James; Bishop, Martin J; Wilder, Catherine D E; O'Shea, Christopher; Pavlovic, Davor; Shattock, Michael J

    2018-01-01

    Rationale: Arrhythmogenic cardiac alternans are thought to be an important determinant for the initiation of ventricular fibrillation. There is limited information on the effects of sympathetic nerve stimulation (SNS) on alternans in the intact heart and the conclusions of existing studies, focused on investigating electrical alternans, are conflicted. Meanwhile, several lines of evidence implicate instabilities in Ca handling, not electrical restitution, as the primary mechanism underpinning alternans. Despite this, there have been no studies on Ca alternans and SNS in the intact heart. The present study sought to address this, by application of voltage and Ca optical mapping for the simultaneous study of APD and Ca alternans in the intact guinea pig heart during direct SNS. Objective : To determine the effects of SNS on APD and Ca alternans in the intact guinea pig heart and to examine the mechanism(s) by which the effects of SNS are mediated. Methods and Results : Studies utilized simultaneous voltage and Ca optical mapping in isolated guinea pig hearts with intact innervation. Alternans were induced using a rapid dynamic pacing protocol. SNS was associated with rate-independent shortening of action potential duration (APD) and the suppression of APD and Ca alternans, as indicated by a shift in the alternans threshold to faster pacing rates. Qualitatively similar results were observed with exogenous noradrenaline perfusion. In contrast with previous reports, both SNS and noradrenaline acted to flatten the slope of the electrical restitution curve. Pharmacological block of the slow delayed rectifying potassium current (I Ks ), sufficient to abolish I Ks -mediated APD-adaptation, partially reversed the effects of SNS on pacing-induced alternans. Treatment with cyclopiazonic acid, an inhibitor of the sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum ATPase, had opposite effects to that of SNS, acting to increase susceptibility to alternans, and suggesting that accelerated Ca reuptake

  18. Spontaneous and light-induced photon emission from intact brains of chick embryos

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    张锦珠; 于文斗; 孙彤

    1997-01-01

    Photon emission (PE) and light-induced photon emission(LPE) of intact brains isolated from chick embryos have been measured by using the single photon counting device. Experimental results showed that the intensi-ty level of photon emission was detected to be higher from intact brain than from the medium in which the brain was immerged during measuring, and the emission intensity was related to the developmental stages, the healthy situation of the measured embryos, and the freshness of isolated brains as well. After white light illumination, a short-life de-layed emission from intact brains was observed, and its relaxation behavior followed a hyperbolic rather than an expo-nential law. According to the hypothesis of biophoton emission originating from a delocalized coherent electromagnetic field and Frohlich’s idea of coherent long-range interactions in biological systems, discussions were made on the signifi-cance of photon emission in studying cell communication, biological regulation, living system’

  19. Predictors of attachment security in preschool children from intact and divorced families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, Hira; Murray, Ann D

    2005-09-01

    The authors selected 58 mother-child dyads from divorced and intact families to participate in a study on the impact of divorce on preschoolers' attachment security. The authors explored pathways that lead to security of attachment. They found that mothers from divorced families were younger, had lower income levels, and had lower levels of education compared with their intact counterparts. Divorced mothers also reported significantly higher levels of stress, depression, need for social support, and conflict with their spouses. Mothers from intact families were more likely to use positive (authoritative) parenting styles compared with divorced mothers. Children in the divorced group had lower security scores on the Attachment Q-Set instrument (E. Waters, 1995). Regression analyses indicated that parenting style made a direct (independent) contribution to attachment security. In addition, temperament was related to attachment security, but temperament did not diminish the association of parenting style with attachment security. Furthermore, regression analyses indicated that the relationship of divorce to attachment security was mediated by parenting style.

  20. Toward best practices in data processing and analysis for intact biotherapeutics by MS in quantitative bioanalysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kellie, John F; Kehler, Jonathan R; Karlinsey, Molly Z; Summerfield, Scott G

    2017-12-01

    Typically, quantitation of biotherapeutics from biological matrices by LC-MS is based on a surrogate peptide approach to determine molecule concentration. Recent efforts have focused on quantitation of the intact protein molecules or larger mass subunits of monoclonal antibodies. To date, there has been limited guidance for large or intact protein mass quantitation for quantitative bioanalysis. Intact- and subunit-level analyses of biotherapeutics from biological matrices are performed at 12-25 kDa mass range with quantitation data presented. Linearity, bias and other metrics are presented along with recommendations made on the viability of existing quantitation approaches. This communication is intended to start a discussion around intact protein data analysis and processing, recognizing that other published contributions will be required.

  1. SOLITARY CHEMORECEPTOR CELL SURVIVAL IS INDEPENDENT OF INTACT TRIGEMINAL INNERVATION

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gulbransen, Brian; Silver, Wayne; Finger, Tom

    2008-01-01

    Nasal solitary chemoreceptor cells (SCCs) are a population of specialized chemosensory epithelial cells presumed to broaden trigeminal chemoreceptivity in mammals (Finger et al., 2003). SCCs are innervated by peptidergic trigeminal nerve fibers (Finger et al., 2003) but it is currently unknown if intact innervation is necessary for SCC development or survival. We tested the dependence of SCCs on innervation by eliminating trigeminal nerve fibers during development with neurogenin-1 knockout mice, during early postnatal development with capsaicin desensitization, and during adulthood with trigeminal lesioning. Our results demonstrate that elimination of innervation at any of these times does not result in decreased SCC numbers. In conclusion, neither SCC development nor mature cell maintenance is dependent on intact trigeminal innervation. PMID:18300260

  2. The impact of family intactness on family functioning, parental control and parent-child relational qualities in a Chinese context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Tan Lei Shek

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The current study investigated the differences between intact and non-intact families in family processes, including systematic family functioning, parental behavioral control, parental psychological control, and parent-child relational qualities. The participants were 3,328 Secondary One students, with a mean age of 12.59 years, recruited from 28 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Four validated scales were used to assess family processes. Results showed that adolescents in non-intact families perceived relatively poorer family functioning, lower level of paternal and maternal behavioral control, lower level of paternal psychological control and poorer parent-child relational qualities than did adolescents in intact families. This generally indicated that family processes were poorer in non-intact families, compared with those in intact families. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings were discussed.

  3. Global forest loss disproportionately erodes biodiversity in intact landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Betts, Matthew G; Wolf, Christopher; Ripple, William J; Phalan, Ben; Millers, Kimberley A; Duarte, Adam; Butchart, Stuart H M; Levi, Taal

    2017-07-27

    Global biodiversity loss is a critical environmental crisis, yet the lack of spatial data on biodiversity threats has hindered conservation strategies. Theory predicts that abrupt biodiversity declines are most likely to occur when habitat availability is reduced to very low levels in the landscape (10-30%). Alternatively, recent evidence indicates that biodiversity is best conserved by minimizing human intrusion into intact and relatively unfragmented landscapes. Here we use recently available forest loss data to test deforestation effects on International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List categories of extinction risk for 19,432 vertebrate species worldwide. As expected, deforestation substantially increased the odds of a species being listed as threatened, undergoing recent upgrading to a higher threat category and exhibiting declining populations. More importantly, we show that these risks were disproportionately high in relatively intact landscapes; even minimal deforestation has had severe consequences for vertebrate biodiversity. We found little support for the alternative hypothesis that forest loss is most detrimental in already fragmented landscapes. Spatial analysis revealed high-risk hot spots in Borneo, the central Amazon and the Congo Basin. In these regions, our model predicts that 121-219 species will become threatened under current rates of forest loss over the next 30 years. Given that only 17.9% of these high-risk areas are formally protected and only 8.9% have strict protection, new large-scale conservation efforts to protect intact forests are necessary to slow deforestation rates and to avert a new wave of global extinctions.

  4. Mouse adhalin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, L; Vachon, P H; Kuang, W

    1997-01-01

    . To analyze the biological roles of adhalin, we cloned the mouse adhalin cDNA, raised peptide-specific antibodies to its cytoplasmic domain, and examined its expression and localization in vivo and in vitro. The mouse adhalin sequence was 80% identical to that of human, rabbit, and hamster. Adhalin...... was specifically expressed in striated muscle cells and their immediate precursors, and absent in many other cell types. Adhalin expression in embryonic mouse muscle was coincident with primary myogenesis. Its expression was found to be up-regulated at mRNA and protein levels during myogenic differentiation...

  5. Comprehensive optical and data management infrastructure for high-throughput light-sheet microscopy of whole mouse brains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müllenbroich, M Caroline; Silvestri, Ludovico; Onofri, Leonardo; Costantini, Irene; Hoff, Marcel Van't; Sacconi, Leonardo; Iannello, Giulio; Pavone, Francesco S

    2015-10-01

    Comprehensive mapping and quantification of neuronal projections in the central nervous system requires high-throughput imaging of large volumes with microscopic resolution. To this end, we have developed a confocal light-sheet microscope that has been optimized for three-dimensional (3-D) imaging of structurally intact clarified whole-mount mouse brains. We describe the optical and electromechanical arrangement of the microscope and give details on the organization of the microscope management software. The software orchestrates all components of the microscope, coordinates critical timing and synchronization, and has been written in a versatile and modular structure using the LabVIEW language. It can easily be adapted and integrated to other microscope systems and has been made freely available to the light-sheet community. The tremendous amount of data routinely generated by light-sheet microscopy further requires novel strategies for data handling and storage. To complete the full imaging pipeline of our high-throughput microscope, we further elaborate on big data management from streaming of raw images up to stitching of 3-D datasets. The mesoscale neuroanatomy imaged at micron-scale resolution in those datasets allows characterization and quantification of neuronal projections in unsectioned mouse brains.

  6. Superolateral Dislocation of Intact Mandibular Condyle: A Case Report and Review of Literature

    OpenAIRE

    Saikrishna, Degala; Shyam Sundar, S.; Mamata, K. S.

    2015-01-01

    Anteromedial fracture dislocation of the mandibular condyle is common but a superolateral dislocation of an intact condyle is quite rare. This type of dislocation is often misdiagnosed or completely overlooked and hence inadequately addressed. We report a case of a 41-year-old male patient who experienced superolateral dislocation of the intact condyle with symphysis fracture and panfacial fracture following a road-traffic accident, and review of literature of superolateral dislocations from ...

  7. Prediction of valid acidity in intact apples with Fourier transform near infrared spectroscopy*

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Yan-de; Ying, Yi-bin; Fu, Xia-ping

    2005-01-01

    To develop nondestructive acidity prediction for intact Fuji apples, the potential of Fourier transform near infrared (FT-NIR) method with fiber optics in interactance mode was investigated. Interactance in the 800 nm to 2619 nm region was measured for intact apples, harvested from early to late maturity stages. Spectral data were analyzed by two multivariate calibration techniques including partial least squares (PLS) and principal component regression (PCR) methods. A total of 120 Fuji appl...

  8. Intrinsic bursting of AII amacrine cells underlies oscillations in the rd1 mouse retina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Hannah; Zhang, Lei; Cembrowski, Mark S; Sabottke, Carl F; Markowitz, Alexander L; Butts, Daniel A; Kath, William L; Singer, Joshua H; Riecke, Hermann

    2014-09-15

    In many forms of retinal degeneration, photoreceptors die but inner retinal circuits remain intact. In the rd1 mouse, an established model for blinding retinal diseases, spontaneous activity in the coupled network of AII amacrine and ON cone bipolar cells leads to rhythmic bursting of ganglion cells. Since such activity could impair retinal and/or cortical responses to restored photoreceptor function, understanding its nature is important for developing treatments of retinal pathologies. Here we analyzed a compartmental model of the wild-type mouse AII amacrine cell to predict that the cell's intrinsic membrane properties, specifically, interacting fast Na and slow, M-type K conductances, would allow its membrane potential to oscillate when light-evoked excitatory synaptic inputs were withdrawn following photoreceptor degeneration. We tested and confirmed this hypothesis experimentally by recording from AIIs in a slice preparation of rd1 retina. Additionally, recordings from ganglion cells in a whole mount preparation of rd1 retina demonstrated that activity in AIIs was propagated unchanged to elicit bursts of action potentials in ganglion cells. We conclude that oscillations are not an emergent property of a degenerated retinal network. Rather, they arise largely from the intrinsic properties of a single retinal interneuron, the AII amacrine cell. Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society.

  9. Multi-Axis Prosthetic Knee Resembles Alpine Skiing Movements of an Intact Leg

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Demšar, Jože Duhovnik, Blaž Lešnik, Matej Supej

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to analyse the flexion angles of the ski boot, ankle and knee joints of an above-knee prosthesis and to compare them with an intact leg and a control group of skiers. One subject with an above-knee amputation of the right leg and eight healthy subjects simulated the movement of a skiing turn by performing two-leg squats in laboratory conditions. By adding additional loads in proportion to body weight (BW; +1/3 BW, +2/3 BW, +3/3 BW, various skiing regimes were simulated. Change of Flexion Angle (CoFA and Range of Motion (RoM in the ski boot, ankle and knee joints were calculated and compared. An average RoM in the skiing boot on the side of prosthesis (4.4 ± 1.1° was significantly lower compared to an intact leg (5.9 ± 1.8° and the control group (6.5 ± 2.3°. In the ankle joint, the average RoM was determined to be 13.2±2.9° in the prosthesis, 12.7 ± 2.8° in an intact leg and 14.8±3.6 in the control group. However, the RoM of the knee joint in the prosthesis (42.2 ± 4.2° was significantly larger than that of the intact leg (34.7 ± 4.4°. The average RoM of the knee joint in the control group was 47.8 ± 5.4°. The influences of additional loads on the kinematics of the lower extremities were different on the side of the prosthesis and on the intact leg. In contrast, additional loads did not produce any significant differences in the control group. Although different CoFAs in the ski boot, ankle and knee joints were used, an above-knee prosthesis with a built-in multi-axis prosthetic knee enables comparable leg kinematics in simulated alpine skiing.

  10. Visual Speech Fills in Both Discrimination and Identification of Non-Intact Auditory Speech in Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jerger, Susan; Damian, Markus F.; McAlpine, Rachel P.; Abdi, Herve

    2018-01-01

    To communicate, children must discriminate and identify speech sounds. Because visual speech plays an important role in this process, we explored how visual speech influences phoneme discrimination and identification by children. Critical items had intact visual speech (e.g. baez) coupled to non-intact (excised onsets) auditory speech (signified…

  11. Generating and Purifying Fab Fragments from Human and Mouse IgG Using the Bacterial Enzymes IdeS, SpeB and Kgp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sjögren, Jonathan; Andersson, Linda; Mejàre, Malin; Olsson, Fredrik

    2017-01-01

    Fab fragments are valuable research tools in various areas of science including applications in imaging, binding studies, removal of Fc-mediated effector functions, mass spectrometry, infection biology, and many others. The enzymatic tools for the generation of Fab fragments have been discovered through basic research within the field of molecular bacterial pathogenesis. Today, these enzymes are widely applied as research tools and in this chapter, we describe methodologies based on bacterial enzymes to generate Fab fragments from both human and mouse IgG. For all human IgG subclasses, the IdeS enzyme from Streptococcus pyogenes has been applied to generate F(ab')2 fragments that subsequently can be reduced under mild conditions to generate a homogenous pool of Fab' fragments. The enzyme Kgp from Porphyromonas gingivalis has been applied to generate intact Fab fragments from human IgG1 and the Fab fragments can be purified using a CH1-specific affinity resin. The SpeB protease, also from S. pyogenes, is able to digest mouse IgGs and has been applied to digest antibodies and Fab fragments can be purified on light chain affinity resins. In this chapter, we describe methodologies that can be used to obtain Fab fragments from human and mouse IgG using bacterial proteases.

  12. Intactness of cell wall structure controls the in vitro digestion of starch in legumes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhital, Sushil; Bhattarai, Rewati R; Gorham, John; Gidley, Michael J

    2016-03-01

    Increasing the level of starch that is not digested by the end of the small intestine and therefore enters the colon ('resistant starch') is a major opportunity for improving the nutritional profile of foods. One mechanism that has been shown to be successful is entrapment of starch within an intact plant tissue structure. However, the level of tissue intactness required for resistance to amylase digestion has not been defined. In this study, intact cells were isolated from a range of legumes after thermal treatment at 60 °C (starch not gelatinised) or 95 °C (starch gelatinised) followed by hydrolysis using pancreatic alpha amylase. It was found that intact cells, isolated at either temperature, were impervious to amylase. However, application of mechanical force damaged the cell wall and made starch accessible to digestive enzymes. This shows that the access of enzymes to the entrapped swollen starch is the rate limiting step controlling hydrolysis of starch in cooked legumes. The results suggest that a single cell wall could be sufficient to provide an effective delivery of starch to the large intestine with consequent nutritional benefits, provided that mechanical damage during digestion is avoided.

  13. Differences in School Behavior and Achievement between Children from Intact, Reconstituted, and Single-Parent Families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Featherstone, Darin R.; And Others

    1992-01-01

    Analyzed differences in school behavior and achievement among students (n=530) in grades six through nine from intact, reconstituted, and single-parent families. Students from intact, two-parent families had fewer absences and tardies, higher grade point averages, and fewer negative and more positive teacher behavioral ratings than did those from…

  14. Apoptosis of mouse hippocampal cells induced by Taenia crassiceps metacestode factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zepeda, N; Solano, S; Copitin, N; Chávez, J L; Fernández, A M; García, F; Tato, P; Molinari, J L

    2017-03-01

    Seizures, headache, depression and neurological deficits are the signs and symptoms most frequently reported in human neurocysticercosis. However, the cause of the associated learning and memory deficits is unknown. Here, we used Taenia crassiceps infection in mice as a model of human cysticercosis. The effects of T. crassiceps metacestode infection or T. crassiceps metacestode factor (MF) treatment on mouse hippocampal cells were studied; control mice were included. At 45 days after infection or treatment of the mice with MF, all mice were anaesthetized and perfused transcardially with saline followed by phosphate-buffered 10% formalin. Then the brains were carefully removed. Coronal sections stained using several techniques were analysed. Extensive and significant apoptosis was found in the experimental animals, mainly in the dentate gyrus, CA1, CA2, CA3 and neighbouring regions, in comparison with the apparently intact cells from control mice (P < 0.01). These results suggest that neurological deficits, especially the learning and memory deficits, may be generated by extensive apoptosis of hippocampal cells.

  15. Magnetic resonance imaging of mouse islet grafts labeled with novel chitosan-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jyuhn-Huarng Juang

    Full Text Available To better understand the fate of islet isografts and allografts, we utilized a magnetic resonance (MR imaging technique to monitor mouse islets labeled with a novel MR contrast agent, chitosan-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide (CSPIO nanoparticles.After being incubated with and without CSPIO (10 µg/ml, C57BL/6 mouse islets were examined under transmission electron microscope (TEM and their insulin secretion was measured. Cytotoxicity was examined in α (αTC1 and β (NIT-1 and βTC cell lines as well as islets. C57BL/6 mice were used as donors and inbred C57BL/6 and Balb/c mice were used as recipients of islet transplantation. Three hundred islets were transplanted under the left kidney capsule of each mouse and then MR was performed in the recipients periodically. At the end of study, the islet graft was removed for histology and TEM studies.After incubation of mouse islets with CSPIO (10 µg/mL, TEM showed CSPIO in endocytotic vesicles of α- and β-cells at 8 h. Incubation with CSPIO did not affect insulin secretion from islets and death rates of αTC1, NIT-1 and βTC cell lines as well as islets. After syngeneic and allogeneic transplantation, grafts of CSPIO-labeled islets were visualized on MR scans as persistent hypointense areas. At 8 weeks after syngeneic transplantation and 31 days after allogeneic transplantation, histology of CSPIO-labeled islet grafts showed colocalized insulin and iron staining in the same areas but the size of allografts decreased with time. TEM with elementary iron mapping demonstrated CSPIO distributed in the cytoplasm of islet cells, which maintained intact ultrastructure.Our results indicate that after syngeneic and allogeneic transplantation, islets labeled with CSPIO nanoparticles can be effectively and safely imaged by MR.

  16. Binding of radiolabelled luteinizing hormone to intact and ovariectomised rat uterus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sen, S.; Bhattacharya, S.

    1992-01-01

    Binding of ovine LH to uterine tissue preparation from intact and ovariectomised rat clearly indicates that uterus possesses specific binding sites for LH. Binding characteristics of LH to uterine tissue preparation from intact rat showed saturability with high affinity and low capacity. Scatchard plot analysis showed dissociation constant of the specific binding site to be 0.12 x 10 -9 mol/l and the number of binding sites was 2.31±0.05 fmol/mg protein. Ovariectomy did not change the binding affinity but effected a decrease in the number of binding sites (1.7 ± 0.08 f mol/mg protein). LH treatment of ovariectomized (ovx) rat had no effect on binding affinity but significantly increased the number of binding sites (3.23 ± 0.1 f mol/mg protein). Reduction of uterine weight due to ovariectomy and marked increase of ovx rat uterine weight by LH administration indicate a source of estrogen in ovx rat. An in vitro uterine tissue slice (from intact and ovx rat) incubation showed depletion of 17 β-estradiol (E 2 ) content in ovx rat which significantly elevated on LH addition. Data suggest the LH binding to rat uterine tissue has biological relevance. (author). 16 refs., 4 figs. 1 tab

  17. Transcriptomic and Proteomic Profiling Revealed High Proportions of Odorant Binding and Antimicrobial Defense Proteins in Olfactory Tissues of the House Mouse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbora Kuntová

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Mammalian olfaction depends on chemosensory neurons of the main olfactory epithelia (MOE, and/or of the accessory olfactory epithelia in the vomeronasal organ (VNO. Thus, we have generated the VNO and MOE transcriptomes and the nasal cavity proteome of the house mouse, Mus musculus musculus. Both transcriptomes had low levels of sexual dimorphisms, while the soluble proteome of the nasal cavity revealed high levels of sexual dimorphism similar to that previously reported in tears and saliva. Due to low levels of sexual dimorphism in the olfactory receptors in MOE and VNO, the sex-specific sensing seems less likely to be dependent on receptor repertoires. However, olfaction may also depend on a continuous removal of background compounds from the sites of detection. Odorant binding proteins (OBPs are thought to be involved in this process and in our study Obp transcripts were most expressed along other lipocalins (e.g., Lcn13, Lcn14 and antimicrobial proteins. At the level of proteome, OBPs were highly abundant with only few being sexually dimorphic. We have, however, detected the major urinary proteins MUP4 and MUP5 in males and females and the male-biased central/group-B MUPs that were thought to be abundant mainly in the urine. The exocrine gland-secreted peptides ESP1 and ESP22 were male-biased but not male-specific in the nose. For the first time, we demonstrate that the expression of nasal lipocalins correlates with antimicrobial proteins thus suggesting that their individual variation may be linked to evolvable mechanisms that regulate natural microbiota and pathogens that regularly enter the body along the ‘eyes-nose-oral cavity’ axis.

  18. Cardiac muscle organization revealed in 3-D by imaging whole-mount mouse hearts using two-photon fluorescence and confocal microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivaguru, Mayandi; Fried, Glenn; Sivaguru, Barghav S; Sivaguru, Vignesh A; Lu, Xiaochen; Choi, Kyung Hwa; Saif, M Taher A; Lin, Brian; Sadayappan, Sakthivel

    2015-11-01

    The ability to image the entire adult mouse heart at high resolution in 3-D would provide enormous advantages in the study of heart disease. However, a technique for imaging nuclear/cellular detail as well as the overall structure of the entire heart in 3-D with minimal effort is lacking. To solve this problem, we modified the benzyl alcohol:benzyl benzoate (BABB) clearing technique by labeling mouse hearts with periodic acid Schiff (PAS) stain. We then imaged the hearts with a combination of two-photon fluorescence microscopy and automated tile-scan imaging/stitching. Utilizing the differential spectral properties of PAS, we could identify muscle and nuclear compartments in the heart. We were also able to visualize the differences between a 3-month-old normal mouse heart and a mouse heart that had undergone heart failure due to the expression of cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C) gene mutation (t/t). Using 2-D and 3-D morphometric analysis, we found that the t/t heart had anomalous ventricular shape, volume, and wall thickness, as well as a disrupted sarcomere pattern. We further validated our approach using decellularized hearts that had been cultured with 3T3 fibroblasts, which were tracked using a nuclear label. We were able to detect the 3T3 cells inside the decellularized intact heart tissue, achieving nuclear/cellular resolution in 3-D. The combination of labeling, clearing, and two-photon microscopy together with tiling eliminates laborious and time-consuming physical sectioning, alignment, and 3-D reconstruction.

  19. Risks for Conduct Disorder Symptoms Associated with Parental Alcoholism in Stepfather Families versus Intact Families from a Community Sample

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foley, Debra L.; Pickles, Andrew; Rutter, Michael; Gardner, Charles O.; Maes, Hermine H.; Silberg, Judy L.; Eaves, Lindon J.

    2004-01-01

    Background: It is not known if the prevalence of parental psychiatric disorders is higher in stepfather than intact families, or if parental alcoholism is differentially associated with risk for conduct disorder (CD) symptoms in stepfather families versus intact families. Method: The sample comprised 839 girls and 741 boys from 792 intact families…

  20. Behavior Management Style of Single Parents and Intact Families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Douglas K.; And Others

    Studies examining the behavior management styles of parents as a function of family intactness and parent employment status are lacking. To assess parental style of behavior management, the Parental Management Questionnaire (PMQ) was completed by 1,957 parents of elementary school children (50% response rate). The PMQ is based on Aronfreed's…

  1. Brain serotonin signaling does not determine sexual preference in male mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Angoa-Pérez

    Full Text Available It was reported recently that male mice lacking brain serotonin (5-HT lose their preference for females (Liu et al., 2011, Nature, 472, 95-100, suggesting a role for 5-HT signaling in sexual preference. Regulation of sex preference by 5-HT lies outside of the well established roles in this behavior established for the vomeronasal organ (VNO and the main olfactory epithelium (MOE. Presently, mice with a null mutation in the gene for tryptophan hydroxylase 2 (TPH2, which are depleted of brain 5-HT, were tested for sexual preference. When presented with inanimate (urine scents from male or estrous female or animate (male or female mouse in estrus sexual stimuli, TPH2-/- males show a clear preference for female over male stimuli. When a TPH2-/- male is offered the simultaneous choice between an estrous female and a male mouse, no sexual preference is expressed. However, when confounding behaviors that are seen among 3 mice in the same cage are controlled, TPH2-/- mice, like their TPH2+/+ counterparts, express a clear preference for female mice. Female TPH2-/- mice are preferred by males over TPH2+/+ females but this does not lead to increased pregnancy success. In fact, if one or both partners in a mating pair are TPH2-/- in genotype, pregnancy success rates are significantly decreased. Finally, expression of the VNO-specific cation channel TRPC2 and of CNGA2 in the MOE of TPH2-/- mice is normal, consistent with behavioral findings that sexual preference of TPH2-/- males for females is intact. In conclusion, 5-HT signaling in brain does not determine sexual preference in male mice. The use of pharmacological agents that are non-selective for the 5-HT neuronal system and that have serious adverse effects may have contributed historically to the stance that 5-HT regulates sexual behavior, including sex partner preference.

  2. Quantitative proteomic analysis of intact plastids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiraya, Takeshi; Kaneko, Kentaro; Mitsui, Toshiaki

    2014-01-01

    Plastids are specialized cell organelles in plant cells that are differentiated into various forms including chloroplasts, chromoplasts, and amyloplasts, and fulfill important functions in maintaining the overall cell metabolism and sensing environmental factors such as sunlight. It is therefore important to grasp the mechanisms of differentiation and functional changes of plastids in order to enhance the understanding of vegetality. In this chapter, details of a method for the extraction of intact plastids that makes analysis possible while maintaining the plastid functions are provided; in addition, a quantitative shotgun method for analyzing the composition and changes in the content of proteins in plastids as a result of environmental impacts is described.

  3. Raman spectroscopy of normal oral buccal mucosa tissues: study on intact and incised biopsies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deshmukh, Atul; Singh, S. P.; Chaturvedi, Pankaj; Krishna, C. Murali

    2011-12-01

    Oral squamous cell carcinoma is one of among the top 10 malignancies. Optical spectroscopy, including Raman, is being actively pursued as alternative/adjunct for cancer diagnosis. Earlier studies have demonstrated the feasibility of classifying normal, premalignant, and malignant oral ex vivo tissues. Spectral features showed predominance of lipids and proteins in normal and cancer conditions, respectively, which were attributed to membrane lipids and surface proteins. In view of recent developments in deep tissue Raman spectroscopy, we have recorded Raman spectra from superior and inferior surfaces of 10 normal oral tissues on intact, as well as incised, biopsies after separation of epithelium from connective tissue. Spectral variations and similarities among different groups were explored by unsupervised (principal component analysis) and supervised (linear discriminant analysis, factorial discriminant analysis) methodologies. Clusters of spectra from superior and inferior surfaces of intact tissues show a high overlap; whereas spectra from separated epithelium and connective tissue sections yielded clear clusters, though they also overlap on clusters of intact tissues. Spectra of all four groups of normal tissues gave exclusive clusters when tested against malignant spectra. Thus, this study demonstrates that spectra recorded from the superior surface of an intact tissue may have contributions from deeper layers but has no bearing from the classification of a malignant tissues point of view.

  4. Secretion of intact proteins and peptide fragments by lysosomal pathways of protein degradation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Isenman, L.D.; Dice, J.F.

    1989-01-01

    We report that degradation of proteins microinjected into human fibroblasts is accompanied by release into the culture medium of peptide fragments and intact proteins as well as single amino acids. For the nine proteins and polypeptides microinjected, acid-precipitable radioactivity, i.e. peptide fragments and/or intact proteins, ranged from 10 to 67% of the total released radioactivity. Peptide fragments and/or intact protein accounted for 60% of the radioactivity released into the medium by cells microinjected with ribonuclease A. Two major radiolabeled peptide fragments were found, and one was of an appropriate size to function as an antigen in antigen-presenting cells. The peptides released from microinjected ribonuclease A were derived from lysosomal pathways of proteolysis based on several lines of evidence. Previous studies have shown that microinjected ribonuclease A is degraded to single amino acids entirely within lysosomes. We show that release of free amino acids and peptide fragments and/or intact protein was equivalently stimulated by serum deprivation and equivalently inhibited by NH4Cl. We also show that lysosomal degradation of endocytosed [3H]ribonuclease A was accompanied by the release of two peptide fragments similar in size and charge to those from microinjected [ 3 H]ribonuclease A. These findings demonstrate that degradation within lysosomes occurs in a manner that spares specific peptides; they also suggest a previously unsuspected pathway by which cells can secrete cytosol-derived polypeptides

  5. 40 CFR 261.40 - Conditional Exclusion for Used, Intact Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) Exported for Recycling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Conditional Exclusion for Used, Intact Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) Exported for Recycling. 261.40 Section 261.40 Protection of Environment...) Exported for Recycling. Used, intact CRTs exported for recycling are not solid wastes if they meet the...

  6. Radioimmunolocalization and selective delivery of radiation in a rat model system: comparison of intact and fragmented antibody

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walker, K.Z.; Seymour-Munn, K.; Axiak, S.M.; Raison, R.L.; Basten, A.; Towson, J.E.; Bautovitch, G.J.; Morris, J.

    1988-01-01

    Monoclonal antibody (MoAb) fragments are known to have advantages over intact immunoglobulins for radioimmunoscintigraphy. It is less clear whether they are as effective in the delivery of radioimmunotherapy. The imaging and dosimetric properties of an intact MoAb, K-1-21, reactive against human kappa light chains (LC) were compared with that of its F(ab') 2 and Fab fragments using a normal rat model system. Two days after injection of 131 I-K-1-21 into rats bearing antigen-sepharose implants, gamma camera images showed specific localization of the MoAb to the target (kappa LC) but not to the control (lambda LC) implant. Better images were obtained with K-1-21 F(ab') 2 than with Fab or intact antibody. Mean kappa implant: blood ratios were 8.6 ± 3.9 for Fab, 7.9 ± 1.8 for F(ab') 2 and 2.0 ± 0.3 for intact K-1-21. The improvement associated with the use of 131 I-K-1-21 fragments was, however, achieved at the expense of lower absolute values of activity at the target site. Thus the absorbed dose delivered to the implant by the intact K-1-21 was double that delivered with F(ab') 2 and six times that delivered with Fab. As intact K-1-21 also delivered a greater radiation dose to normal tissues, F(ab') 2 fragments may have the greatest overall advantages for therapy with radionuclide MoAb conjugates. (author)

  7. Insulin receptor internalization defect in an insulin-resistant mouse melanoma cell line

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Androlewicz, M.J.; Straus, D.S.; Brandenburg, D.F.

    1989-01-01

    Previous studies from this laboratory demonstrated that the PG19 mouse melanoma cell line does not exhibit a biological response to insulin, whereas melanoma x mouse embryo fibroblast hybrids do respond to insulin. To investigate the molecular basis of the insulin resistance of the PG19 melanoma cells, insulin receptors from the insulin-resistant melanoma cells and insulin-sensitive fibroblast x melanoma hybrid cells were analyzed by the technique of photoaffinity labeling using the photoprobe 125 I-NAPA-DP-insulin. Photolabeled insulin receptors from the two cell types have identical molecular weights as determined by SDS gel electrophoresis under reducing and nonreducing conditions, indicating that the receptors on the two cell lines are structurally similar. Insulin receptor internalization studies revealed that the hybrid cells internalize receptors to a high degree at 37 degree C, whereas the melanoma cells internalize receptors to a very low degree or not at all. The correlation between ability to internalize insulin receptors and sensitivity to insulin action in this system suggests that uptake of the insulin-receptor complex may be required for insulin action in these cells. Insulin receptors from the two cell lines autophosphorylate in a similar insulin-dependent manner both in vitro and in intact cells, indicating that insulin receptors on the melanoma and hybrid cells have functional tyrosine protein kinase activity. Therefore, the block in insulin action in the PG19 melanoma cells appears to reside at a step beyond insulin-stimulated receptor autophosphorylation

  8. Oxidation of molecular tritium by intact soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sweet, C.W.; Murphy, C.E. Jr.

    1980-01-01

    The effects of environmental factors on the rate of oxidation of molecular tritium (T 2 ) to tritiated water (HTO) were determined for intact soils during field exposures. Maximum deposition velocities of approximately 0.03 cm/sec were measured for T 2 at low wind speeds for a variety of soils over a wide range of conditions. Deposition velocities were slightly inhibited in wet soils and at 0 0 C. In dry soils, oxidation of T 2 to HTO occurred deeper in the soil profile, but deposition velocities were unaffected

  9. Decomposition of intact chicken feathers by a thermophile in combination with an acidulocomposting garbage-treatment process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shigeri, Yasushi; Matsui, Tatsunobu; Watanabe, Kunihiko

    2009-11-01

    In order to develop a practical method for the decomposition of intact chicken feathers, a moderate thermophile strain, Meiothermus ruber H328, having strong keratinolytic activity, was used in a bio-type garbage-treatment machine working with an acidulocomposting process. The addition of strain H328 cells (15 g) combined with acidulocomposting in the garbage machine resulted in 70% degradation of intact chicken feathers (30 g) within 14 d. This degradation efficiency is comparable to a previous result employing the strain as a single bacterium in flask culture, and it indicates that strain H328 can promote intact feather degradation activity in a garbage machine currently on the market.

  10. Prevalence of depressive symptoms in older nursing home residents with intact cognitive function in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Sophia H; Chuang, Yeu-Hui; Ting, Yeh-Feng; Lin, Kuan-Yu; Hsieh, Chia-Jung

    2018-03-25

    The investigators aimed to explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors among older residents with intact cognitive function in nursing homes in Taiwan. A cross-sectional descriptive and correlational research design was used. A convenience sample of 178 older residents without cognitive impairment was recruited from 36 nursing homes in Southern Taiwan. The questionnaires included demographic data; the Barthel Index, which assesses the ability to perform activities of daily living; and the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form. Among older residents in nursing homes with intact cognitive function, 39.3% had depressive symptoms. Age, religion, previous living status, previous working status, being totally dependent in physical function, and being severely dependent in physical function were significant predictors of depressive symptoms among cognitively intact older residents. The findings highlight the critical mental healthcare issues among older residents with intact cognitive function in nursing homes. Practical strategies for preventing the occurrence of depressive symptoms and caring for those who have depressive symptoms should be developed, especially for younger or dependent older residents or residents who have never been employed, have no religious beliefs, or have lived alone before they moved into an institution. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Genistein Stimulates Jejunum Chloride Secretion via an Akt-Mediated Pathway in Intact Female Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lana Leung

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aims: We have previously shown that daily subcutaneous injections with the naturally occurring phytoestrogen genistein (600 mg genistein/kg body weight/day, 600G results in a significantly increased basal intestinal chloride, Cl-, secretion (Isc, a measure of transepithelial secretion in intact C57BL/6J female mice after 1-week of treatment, compared to controls (DMSO vehicle injected. Removal of endogenous estrogen via ovariectomy (OVX had no effect on the 600G-mediated increase in basal Isc. Methods: Given the estrogen-like characteristics of genistein, we compared the effects of daily estradiol (E2 injections (10 mg E2/kg body weight/day, 10E2 on basal Isc in intact and OVX mice. In intact mice, 10E2 was without effect on basal Isc, however, in OVX mice, 10E2 significantly increased basal Isc (mimicked 600G. The goal of the current study was to characterize the intracellular signaling pathways responsible for mediating 600G- or 10E2-stimulated increases in basal Isc in intact female or OVX mice. Results: We measured total protein expression in isolated segments of jejunum using western blot from the following six groups of mice; intact or OVX with; 600G, 10E2 or control. The proteins of interest were: Akt, p-Akt, p-PDK1, p-PTEN, p-c-Raf, p-GSK-3β, rap-1 and ERK1/2. All blots were normalized to GAPDH levels (n = 6-18/group. Conclusion: These data suggest that the presence of the endogenous sex steroid, estrogen, modifies the intracellular signaling pathway required to mediate Cl- secretion when the intestine is exposed to exogenous 600G or E2. These studies may have relevance for designing pharmacological tools for women with intestinal chloride secretory dysfunctions.

  12. PPARg mRNA in the adult mouse hypothalamus: distribution and regulation in response to dietary challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang eLiu

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARg is a ligand-activated transcription factor that was originally identified as a regulator of peroxisome proliferation and adipocyte differentiation. Emerging evidence suggests that functional PPARg signaling also occurs within the hypothalamus. However, the exact distribution and identities of PPARg-expressing hypothalamic cells remains under debate. The present study systematically mapped PPARg mRNA expression in the adult mouse brain using in situ hybridization histochemistry. PPARg mRNA was found to be expressed at high levels outside the hypothalamus including the neocortex, the olfactory bulb, the organ of the vasculosum of the lamina terminalis, and the subfornical organ. Within the hypothalamus, PPARg was present at moderate levels in the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the ependymal of the 3rd ventricle. In all examined feeding-related hypothalamic nuclei, PPARg was expressed at very low levels that were close to the limit of detection. Using qPCR techniques, we demonstrated that PPARg mRNA expression was upregulated in the suprachiasmatic nucleus in response to fasting. Double in situ hybridization further demonstrated that PPARg was primarily expressed in neurons. Collectively, our observations provide a comprehensive map of PPARg distribution and regulation in the intact adult mouse hypothalamus.

  13. 46 CFR 173.025 - Additional intact stability standards: Counterballasted vessels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ...) SUBDIVISION AND STABILITY SPECIAL RULES PERTAINING TO VESSEL USE Lifting § 173.025 Additional intact stability standards: Counterballasted vessels. (a) Each vessel equipped to counterballast while lifting must be shown... loading and operation and at each combination of hook load and crane radius. (b) When doing the...

  14. In vitro permeation of palladium powders through intact and damaged human skin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crosera, Matteo; Mauro, Marcella; Bovenzi, Massimo; Adami, Gianpiero; Baracchini, Elena; Maina, Giovanni; Larese Filon, Francesca

    2018-05-01

    The use of palladium (Pd) has grown in the last decades, commonly used in automotive catalytic converters, jewellery and dental restorations sectors. Both general and working population can be exposed to this metal, which may act as skin sensitizer. This study investigated in vitro palladium powders permeation through excised intact and damaged human skin using the Franz diffusion cell method and the effect of rapid skin decontamination using sodium laureth-sulphate. 1 mL of a 10 min sonicated suspension made of 2.5 g of Pd powder in 50 mL synthetic sweat at pH 4.5 and room temperature was applied to the outer surface of the skin membranes for 24 h. Pd permeation, assessed by ICP-MS, was higher when damaged skin was used (p = 0.03). Final flux permeation values and lag times were 0.02 ± 0.01 μg cm -2  h -1 and 6.00 ± 3.95 h for intact, and 0.10 ± 0.02 μg cm -2  h -1 and 2.05 ± 1.49 h for damaged skin samples, respectively. Damaged skin protocol enhances Pd skin penetration inside dermal layer (p = 0.04), thus making the metal available for systemic uptake. Pd penetration (p = 0.02) and permeation (p = 0.012) through intact skin decreased significantly when a cleaning procedure was applied. This study demonstrates that after skin exposure to Pd powders a small permeation of the metal happen both through intact and damaged skin and that an early decontamination with a common cleanser can significantly decrease the final amount of metal available forsystemic uptake. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. IgE epitopes of intact and digested Ara h 1

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bøgh, Katrine Lindholm; Nielsen, H.; Madsen, Charlotte Bernhard

    2012-01-01

    epitopes have been suggested to be of great importance. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to identify IgE specific epitopes of intact and digested Ara h 1, and to compare epitope patterns between humans and rats. MethodsSera from five peanut allergic patients and five Brown Norway rats were used...... to identify intact and digested Ara h 1-specific IgE epitopes by competitive immunoscreening of a phage-displayed random hepta-mer peptide library using polyclonal IgE from the individual sera. The resulting peptide sequences were mapped on the surface of a three-dimensional structure of the Ara h 1 molecule...... to mimic epitopes using a computer-based algorithm. ResultsPatients as well as rats were shown to have individual IgE epitope patterns. All epitope mimics were conformational and found to cluster into three different areas of the Ara h 1 molecule. Five epitope motifs were identified by patient IgE, which...

  16. Discrimination between intact and decayed pulp regions in carious teeth by ADC mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cankar, Ksenija; Nemeth, Lidija; Bajd, Franci; Vidmar, Jernej; Serša, Igor

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate an advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping, in the functional assessment of carious teeth. 38 extracted human teeth with scores of 0, 3 and 6 according to International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) criteria were screened and subsequently analyzed by MRI at 2.35 T. Histology sectioning of teeth was used for the gold standard by analyzing two extreme cases (intact and severely decayed). ADC maps of the same teeth were calculated from corresponding diffusion-weighted images and used to obtain ADC distributions along dental pulp as functions of the relative pulp length measured from the occlusal pulp side. The measured distributions were analyzed for the best fit by a four-parameter three-segment linear regression model for ADC distribution along the pulp. MRI results were in good agreement with findings in histological sections of identical teeth. The best fit model parameters, relative decayed region depth, relative transition region width and ADC values of intact and decayed pulp tissue, showed statistically significant differences between the ADC values of intact and decayed pulp tissue (1.0 × 10(-9) m(2)/s vs. 0.74-0.89 × 10(-9) m(2)/s) and the relative decayed region depth progressing with ICDAS score (3 vs. 46% with ICDAS 3 vs. ICDAS 6). The results of this feasibility study confirmed relevance of ADC mapping for the discrimination and localization of intact and decayed regions in dental pulps of carious teeth. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  17. Blood epididymal barrier to [3H]-inulin in intact and vasectomized hamsters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turner, T.T.; D'Addario, D.A.; Howards, S.S.

    1981-01-01

    The net transport of [ 3 H]-inulin into the fluids of the hamster seminiferous and caput, corpus, and cauda epididymal tubules was examined in both intact animals and those vasectomized 10 months previously. Mean isotope concentrations in reproductive tract tubule fluids did not exceeded 10 per cent of blood plasma isotope concentrations during the experiment. There were no significant differences in net transport of [ 3 H]-inulin into any of the tubule fluids sampled. Ten months after vasectomy, the seminiferous tubule, and all regions of the epididymal tubule retain the capacity to exclude [ 3 H]-insulin. Thus in the hamster 10 months after vasectomy, the blood testis and blood epididymal barriers to inulin are intact

  18. Effects of ignoring baseline on modeling transitions from intact cognition to dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Lei; Tyas, Suzanne L; Snowdon, David A; Kryscio, Richard J

    2009-07-01

    This paper evaluates the effect of ignoring baseline when modeling transitions from intact cognition to dementia with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and global impairment (GI) as intervening cognitive states. Transitions among states are modeled by a discrete-time Markov chain having three transient (intact cognition, MCI, and GI) and two competing absorbing states (death and dementia). Transition probabilities depend on two covariates, age and the presence/absence of an apolipoprotein E-epsilon4 allele, through a multinomial logistic model with shared random effects. Results are illustrated with an application to the Nun Study, a cohort of 678 participants 75+ years of age at baseline and followed longitudinally with up to ten cognitive assessments per nun.

  19. Intact and Degraded Component Criticality Calculations of N Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    L. Angers

    2001-01-01

    The objective of this calculation is to perform intact and degraded mode criticality evaluations of the Department of Energy's (DOE) N Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel codisposed in a 2-Defense High-Level Waste (2-DHLW)/2-Multi-Canister Overpack (MCO) Waste Package (WP) and emplaced in a monitored geologic repository (MGR) (see Attachment I). The scope of this calculation is limited to the determination of the effective neutron multiplication factor (k eff ) for both intact and degraded mode internal configurations of the codisposal waste package. This calculation will support the analysis that will be performed to demonstrate the technical viability for disposing of U-metal (N Reactor) spent nuclear fuel in the potential MGR

  20. Comparison of umbilical cord interleukin-6 in preterm infants with premature rupture of membranes and intact membranes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gharebaghi, Manizheh M.; Peirovifar, A.; Gharebaghi, Parvin M.

    2008-01-01

    Objective was to compare inflammatory mediators in the cord blood of premature newborn infants with premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and intact membranes. Eighty-nine premature neonates with gestational age of 27-34 weeks that delivered in Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad, Iran from June 2005 to March 2006 were enrolled in a prospective observational study and their umbilical cord plasma was collected at birth. They were allocated into 2 groups (45 patients with PROM and 44 neonates with intact membranes). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured in cord plasma by the enzyme linked immunoassay (ELISA) method. Mean cord plasma IL-6 levels in preterm neonates with PROM was 205.71 pg/ml and in neonates with intact membranes was 33.3 pg/ml for IL-6 (p=0.000). The mean cord blood CRP level in newborns was 10.2 ug/ml, and in those with intact membranes was 1.6 ug/ml and in those with intact membranes was 1.6 ug/ml (p=0.41). Early onset sepsis was more frequent in infants with PROM than premature infants with intact membrane (38% versus 10%, p=0.001). In neonates with PROM, the mean cord blood IL-6 level was significantly higher in septic newborns (414.28 versus 40.44 pg/ml, p=0.000). The premature newborn infants with PROM had increased IL-6 levels in cord blood, which was significantly higher in neonates that developed early onset sepsis. (author)

  1. Transfer Comparison Study Nitrogen on the Intact and Decapitated Legumes by Using the 15N Labeling Technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Widjayanto, Didik W.

    1998-01-01

    The experiment was done in order to evaluate the N transfer from the intact and decapitated legumes by using the 15 N labeling technique. Seven days after final labeling the above ground biomass from labeled legume species was removed and the remaining stalks capped to prevent regrowth. Twenty days after final labeling (fourteen days after capping) the all treatments were sample and analyzed. The decapitated legumes appeared to transfer more percentage N than the intact legumes. Although both decapitated and intact legumes transferred, the transfer of N did not incur a dry matter and N yield benefit

  2. Effect of surface charge of immortalized mouse cerebral endothelial cell monolayer on transport of charged solutes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Wei; Li, Guanglei; Gil, Eun Seok; Lowe, Tao Lu; Fu, Bingmei M

    2010-04-01

    Charge carried by the surface glycocalyx layer (SGL) of the cerebral endothelium has been shown to significantly modulate the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to charged solutes in vivo. The cultured monolayer of bEnd3, an immortalized mouse cerebral endothelial cell line, is becoming a popular in vitro BBB model due to its easy growth and maintenance of many BBB characteristics over repeated passages. To test whether the SGL of bEnd3 monolayer carries similar charge as that in the intact BBB and quantify this charge, which can be characterized by the SGL thickness (L(f)) and charge density (C(mf)), we measured the solute permeability of bEnd3 monolayer to neutral solutes and to solutes with similar size but opposite charges: negatively charged alpha-lactalbumin (-11) and positively charged ribonuclease (+3). Combining the measured permeability data with a transport model across the cell monolayer, we predicted the L(f) and the C(mf) of bEnd3 monolayer, which is approximately 160 nm and approximately 25 mEq/L, respectively. We also investigated whether orosomucoid, a plasma glycoprotein modulating the charge of the intact BBB, alters the charge of bEnd3 monolayer. We found that 1 mg/mL orosomucoid would increase SGL charge density of bEnd3 monolayer to approximately 2-fold of its control value.

  3. The Mouse Genome Database (MGD): facilitating mouse as a model for human biology and disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eppig, Janan T; Blake, Judith A; Bult, Carol J; Kadin, James A; Richardson, Joel E

    2015-01-01

    The Mouse Genome Database (MGD, http://www.informatics.jax.org) serves the international biomedical research community as the central resource for integrated genomic, genetic and biological data on the laboratory mouse. To facilitate use of mouse as a model in translational studies, MGD maintains a core of high-quality curated data and integrates experimentally and computationally generated data sets. MGD maintains a unified catalog of genes and genome features, including functional RNAs, QTL and phenotypic loci. MGD curates and provides functional and phenotype annotations for mouse genes using the Gene Ontology and Mammalian Phenotype Ontology. MGD integrates phenotype data and associates mouse genotypes to human diseases, providing critical mouse-human relationships and access to repositories holding mouse models. MGD is the authoritative source of nomenclature for genes, genome features, alleles and strains following guidelines of the International Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice. A new addition to MGD, the Human-Mouse: Disease Connection, allows users to explore gene-phenotype-disease relationships between human and mouse. MGD has also updated search paradigms for phenotypic allele attributes, incorporated incidental mutation data, added a module for display and exploration of genes and microRNA interactions and adopted the JBrowse genome browser. MGD resources are freely available to the scientific community. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  4. Study and ICH validation of a reverse-phase liquid chromatographic method for the quantification of the intact monoclonal antibody cetuximab

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Martínez-Ortega

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Cetuximab (CTX is a potent chimeric mouse/human monoclonal antibody (mAb approved worldwide for treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Among the various biological and physical analyses performed for full study on this biopharmaceutic, the determination of the concentration preparations throughout manufacturing and subsequent handling in hospital is particularly relevant. In the present work, the study and validation of a method for quantifying intact CTX by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection ((RPHPLC/DAD is presented. With that end, we checked the performance of a chromatographic method for quantifying CTX and conducted a study to validate the method as stability-indicating in accordance with the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines (ICH for biotechnological drugs; therefore, we evaluated linearity, accuracy, precision, detection and quantification limits, robustness and system suitability. The specificity of the method and the robustness of the mAb formulation against external stress factors were estimated by comprehensive chromatographic analysis by subjecting CTX to several informative stress conditions. As demonstrated, the method is rapid, accurate, and reproducible for CTX quantification. It was also successfully used to quantify CTX in a long-term stability study performed under hospital conditions.

  5. Optimization of the virtual mouse HeadMouse to foster its classroom use by children with physical disabilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Merce TEIXIDO

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the optimization of a virtual mouse called HeadMouse in order to foster its classroom use by children with physical disabilities. HeadMouse is an absolute virtual mouse that converts head movements in cursor displacement and facial gestures in click actions. The virtual mouse combines different image processing algorithms: face detection, pattern matching and optical flow in order to emulate the behaviour of a conventional computer mouse. The original implementation of HeadMouse requires large computational power and this paper proposes specific optimizations in order to enable its use by children with disabilities in standard low cost classroom computers.

  6. The effects of 60Co γ-ray irradiation on the cytoskeleton of mouse peritoneal macrophages and human peripheral blood monocytes in vitro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Xiaomei; Guo Yuhua; Yin Zhiwei; Mao Zijun

    1990-03-01

    The whole mount cell electron microscopy in combination with selective extraction method for preparing cytoskeletal framework was applied. Cy toskeleton prepared by Triton X-100 treatment of mouse peritoneal macrophages and human peripheral blood monocytes appeared in electron microscopy as a highly organized and interconnected three-dimensional matrix of different fibrous elements. Since such cytoskeletons are open membrane-free system, individual fibrous organizations can be identified by specific antibodies. An indirect immunogold procedure using monoclonal anti-tubulin or anti-actin antibodies was applied to visualize tubulin-or actin-containing structures. The three-dimensional visualization of Triton X-100 resistant cytoskeletons had been used to demonstrate that different doses of 60 Co γ-ray caused a distinctive and reproducible alterations of the cytoskeletons of intact mouse peritoneal macrophages and human peripheral blood monocytes in vitro. The results showed that there were some similar alterations with those caused by cytochalasin B and by colchicine. From these observations and other workers' studies, it's likely that 60 Co γ-ray irradiation may inhibit cytoplasmic microtubule and microfilament assembling

  7. Effects of casoxin 4 on morphine inhibition of small animal intestinal contractility and gut transit in the mouse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glen S Patten

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Glen S Patten1,2, Richard J Head1, Mahinda Y Abeywardena1,21CSIRO Preventative Health National Research Flagship, Adelaide, Australia; 2CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences, Adelaide, AustraliaBackground and aims: Chronic opioid analgesia has the debilitating side-effect of constipation in human patients. The major aims of this study were to: 1 characterize the opioid-specific antagonism of morphine-induced inhibition of electrically driven contraction of the small intestine of mice, rats, and guinea pigs; and 2 test if the oral delivery of small milk-derived opioid antagonist peptides could block morphine-induced inhibition of intestinal transit in mice.Methods: Mouse, rat, and guinea pig intact ileal sections were electrically stimulated to contract and inhibited with morphine in vitro. Morphine inhibition was then blocked by opioid subtype antagonists in the mouse and guinea pig. Using a polymeric dye, Poly R-478, the opioid antagonists casoxin 4 and lactoferroxin A were tested orally for blocking activity of morphine inhibition of gut transit in vivo by single or double gavage techniques.Results: The guinea pig tissue was more sensitive to morphine inhibition compared with the mouse or the rat (IC50 [half maximal inhibitory concentration] values as nmol/L ± SEM were 34 ± 3, 230 ± 13, and 310 ± 14 respectively (P < 0.01. The inhibitory influence of opioid agonists (IC50 in electrically driven ileal mouse preparations were DADLE ([D-Ala2, D-Leu5]-enkephalin ≥ met-enkephalin ≥ dynorphin A ≥ DAMGO ([D-Ala2, N-Me-Phe4, Gly-ol5]-enkephalin > morphine > morphiceptin as nmol/L 13.9, 17.3, 19.5, 23.3, 230, and 403 respectively. The mouse demonstrated predominantly Κ- and δ-opioid receptor activity with a smaller µ-opioid receptor component. Both mouse and guinea pig tissue were sensitive to casoxin 4 antagonism of morphine inhibition of contraction. In contrast to naloxone, relatively high oral doses of the µ-opioid receptor antagonists

  8. In vitro evaluation of percutaneous diffusion of uranyl nitrate through intact or excoriated skin of rat and pig

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petitot, F.; Moreels, A.M.; Paquet, F.

    2004-01-01

    At the present time, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has not published any model concerning internal radioactive contamination by uptake from wounds. The aims of our work were to determine the time available to treat contamination of intact or wounded skin before a significant uptake of uranium occurred and to evaluate the consequences of incomplete decontamination on uranium uptake. The kinetics of percutaneous diffusion of uranium through intact or excoriated skin and its distribution in skin layers were evaluated using an in vitro technique. Our data demonstrated a dramatic increase of uranium percutaneous diffusion through excoriated skin compared with intact skin. Significant uptake of uranium through excoriated skin occurred in only 30 min, indicating that there is only a short interval available to treat a contaminated wound effectively. Moreover, in the case of an incompletely decontaminated superficial wound, viable epidermis behaved as a reservoir for uranium that remained bioavailable. At the present time, potential uptake of uranium and perhaps other radionuclides through intact or wounded skin is not adequately taken into account by radiological protection agencies. Our results emphasize the need for further study and modeling of uptake of radionuclides through intact or wounded skin. (author)

  9. Influence of fluoride varnish on shear bond strength of a universal adhesive on intact and demineralized enamel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortiz-Ruiz, Antonio José; Muñoz-Gómez, Iban Jesús; Pérez-Pardo, Ana; Germán-Cecilia, Concepción; Martínez-Beneyto, Yolanda; Vicente, Ascensión

    2018-04-27

    The aim was to evaluate the effect of fluoride varnish on the shear bond strength (SBS) on polished and non-polished intact and demineralized enamel. Bovine incisors (half demineralized) were used. Bifluorid 12™ was applied. Bonding was made with Futurabond ® M + and GrandioSO, 24 h and 7 days after varnishing. In some groups, varnish was removed by polishing before bonding. SBS was measured. Fracture type was determined by stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations of the enamel surface were made. Between-group differences were determined by one-way ANOVA and the Tukey test. Associations between study factors and fracture modes were analysed using contingency tables and Pearson's chi-squared test. For intact enamel, SBS on varnished enamel at 24 h was significantly less than in the other groups. SBS recovered 7 days after varnishing. Varnish elimination after 24 h significantly increased the SBS. However, removal at 7 days did not modify SBS. SBS on demineralized enamel groups was significantly less than in intact enamel, except for demineralized enamel varnished and removed at 7 days. Demineralized enamel was associated with cohesive enamel fractures and intact enamel with cohesive fractures of the composite and adhesive fractures. SEM of varnish surfaces showed a homogenous layer scattered with amorphous precipitate. In conclusion, on intact enamel fluoride varnish had a negative effect on SBS at 24 h, which disappeared after 7 days. On demineralized enamel, varnish did not reduce SBS at either time. Polishing the varnished enamel surface showed a similar SBS to intact enamel after 7 days.

  10. Using Spores for Fusarium spp. Classification by MALDI-Based Intact Cell/Spore Mass Spectrometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolfgang Winkler

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Fusarium is a widespread genus of filamentous fungi and a member of the soil microbial community. Certain subspecies are health threatening because of their mycotoxin production that affects the human and animal food chain. Thus, for early and effective pest control, species identification is of particular interest; however, differentiation on the subspecies level is challenging and time-consuming for this fungus. In the present study, we show the possibilities of intact cell mass spectrometry for spore analysis of 22 different Fusarium strains belonging to six Fusarium subspecies. We found that species differentiation is possible if mass spectrometric analyses are performed under well-defined conditions with fixed parameters. A critical point for analysis is a proper sample preparation of spores, which increases the quality of mass spectra with respect to signal intensity and m/z value variations. It was concluded that data acquistion has to be performed automatically; otherwise, user-specific variations are introduced generating data which cannot fit the existing datasets. Data that show clearly that matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-based intact cell/intact spore mass spectrometry (IC/ISMS can be applied to differentiate closely related Fusarium spp. are presented. Results show a potential to build a database on Fusarium species for accurate species identification, for fast response in the case of infections in the cornfield. We furthermore demonstrate the high precision of our approach in classification of intact Fusarium species according to the location of their collection.

  11. The effect of self-transcendence on depression in cognitively intact nursing home patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haugan, Gørill; Innstrand, Siw Tone

    2012-01-01

    Aims. This study's aim was to test the effects of self-transcendence on depression among cognitively intact nursing home patients. Background. Depression is considered the most frequent mental disorder among the elderly population. Specifically, the depression rate among nursing home patients is three to four times higher than that among community-dwelling elderly. Therefore, finding new and alternative ways to prevent and decrease depression is of great importance for nursing home patients' well-being. Self-transcendence is related to spiritual as well as nonspiritual factors, and it is described as a correlate and resource for well-being among vulnerable populations and at the end of life. Methods. A two-factor construct of the self-transcendence scale (interpersonal and intrapersonal) and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) was applied. A sample of 202 cognitively intact nursing home patients in central Norway was selected to respond to the questionnaires in 2008/2009. Results. A hypothesized SEM model demonstrated significant direct relationships and total effects of self-transcendence on depression. Conclusion and Implication for Practice. Facilitating patients' self-transcendence, both interpersonally and intrapersonally, might decrease depression among cognitively intact nursing home patients.

  12. Construction of disturbed and intact soil blocks to develop percolating soil based treatment systems for dirty water from dairy farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brookman, S K E; Chadwick, D R; Headon, D M

    2002-03-01

    Intact soil blocks with a surface area of 1.8 x 1.6 m, 1.0 m deep, were excavated in a coarse sandy loam. The sides of the soil blocks were supported with plywood before using hydraulic rams to force a steel cutting plate beneath them. Disturbed soil blocks of the same depth as the intact blocks were also established. Experiments were conducted to determine purification efficiencies for biological oxygen demand (BOD), molybdate reactive phosphorus (MRP), nitrate and ammonium-N after the application of dirty water. A preliminary experiment is described where a low application of dirty water was applied to the soil blocks, 2 mm day(-1). In addition, a chloride tracer was conducted for the duration of the experiment. Disturbed soil had a purification efficiency for BOD of 99% compared to 96% from intact soil (Pammonium-N were 100 and 99%, respectively, for the intact and disturbed soils. Nitrate-N concentration increased in leachate from both treatments reaching maximum concentrations of 15 and 8 mg l(-1) from disturbed and intact soils, respectively. Chloride traces for each soil block followed similar patterns with 47 and 51% loss from disturbed and intact soils, respectively.

  13. Development of mPMab-1, a Mouse-Rat Chimeric Antibody Against Mouse Podoplanin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, Shinji; Kaneko, Mika K; Nakamura, Takuro; Ichii, Osamu; Konnai, Satoru; Kato, Yukinari

    2017-04-01

    Podoplanin (PDPN), the ligand of C-type lectin-like receptor-2, is used as a lymphatic endothelial marker. We previously established clone PMab-1 of rat IgG 2a as a specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) against mouse PDPN. PMab-1 is also very sensitive in immunohistochemical analysis; however, rat mAbs seem to be unfavorable for pathologists because anti-mouse IgG and anti-rabbit IgG are usually used as secondary antibodies in commercially available kits for immunohistochemical analysis. In this study, we develop a mouse-rat chimeric antibody, mPMab-1 of mouse IgG 2a , which was derived from rat PMab-1 mAb. Immunohistochemical analysis shows that mPMab-1 detects podocytes of the kidney, lymphatic endothelial cells of the colon, and type I alveolar cells of the lung. Importantly, mPMab-1 is more sensitive than PMab-1. This conversion strategy from rat mAb to mouse mAb could be applicable to other mAbs.

  14. Glucose metabolism, islet architecture, and genetic homogeneity in imprinting of [Ca2+](i and insulin rhythms in mouse islets.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig S Nunemaker

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available We reported previously that islets isolated from individual, outbred Swiss-Webster mice displayed oscillations in intracellular calcium ([Ca2+](i that varied little between islets of a single mouse but considerably between mice, a phenomenon we termed "islet imprinting." We have now confirmed and extended these findings in several respects. First, imprinting occurs in both inbred (C57BL/6J as well as outbred mouse strains (Swiss-Webster; CD1. Second, imprinting was observed in NAD(PH oscillations, indicating a metabolic component. Further, short-term exposure to a glucose-free solution, which transiently silenced [Ca2+](i oscillations, reset the oscillatory patterns to a higher frequency. This suggests a key role for glucose metabolism in maintaining imprinting, as transiently suppressing the oscillations with diazoxide, a K(ATP-channel opener that blocks [Ca2+](i influx downstream of glucose metabolism, did not change the imprinted patterns. Third, imprinting was not as readily observed at the level of single beta cells, as the [Ca2+](i oscillations of single cells isolated from imprinted islets exhibited highly variable, and typically slower [Ca2+](i oscillations. Lastly, to test whether the imprinted [Ca2+](i patterns were of functional significance, a novel microchip platform was used to monitor insulin release from multiple islets in real time. Insulin release patterns correlated closely with [Ca2+](i oscillations and showed significant mouse-to-mouse differences, indicating imprinting. These results indicate that islet imprinting is a general feature of islets and is likely to be of physiological significance. While islet imprinting did not depend on the genetic background of the mice, glucose metabolism and intact islet architecture may be important for the imprinting phenomenon.

  15. Gaze beats mouse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mateo, Julio C.; San Agustin, Javier; Hansen, John Paulin

    2008-01-01

    Facial EMG for selection is fast, easy and, combined with gaze pointing, it can provide completely hands-free interaction. In this pilot study, 5 participants performed a simple point-and-select task using mouse or gaze for pointing and a mouse button or a facial-EMG switch for selection. Gaze...

  16. Feasible pickup from intact ossicular chain with floating piezoelectric microphone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Hou-Yong; Na, Gao; Chi, Fang-Lu; Jin, Kai; Pan, Tie-Zheng; Gao, Zhen

    2012-02-22

    Many microphones have been developed to meet with the implantable requirement of totally implantable cochlear implant (TICI). However, a biocompatible one without destroying the intactness of the ossicular chain still remains under investigation. Such an implantable floating piezoelectric microphone (FPM) has been manufactured and shows an efficient electroacoustic performance in vitro test at our lab. We examined whether it pick up sensitively from the intact ossicular chain and postulated whether it be an optimal implantable one. Animal controlled experiment: five adult cats (eight ears) were sacrificed as the model to test the electroacoustic performance of the FPM. Three groups were studied: (1) the experiment group (on malleus): the FPM glued onto the handle of the malleus of the intact ossicular chains; (2) negative control group (in vivo): the FPM only hung into the tympanic cavity; (3) positive control group (Hy-M30): a HiFi commercial microphone placed close to the site of the experiment ear. The testing speaker played pure tones orderly ranged from 0.25 to 8.0 kHz. The FPM inside the ear and the HiFi microphone simultaneously picked up acoustic vibration which recorded as .wav files to analyze. The FPM transformed acoustic vibration sensitively and flatly as did the in vitro test across the frequencies above 2.0 kHz, whereas inefficiently below 1.0 kHz for its overloading mass. Although the HiFi microphone presented more efficiently than the FPM did, there was no significant difference at 3.0 kHz and 8.0 kHz. It is feasible to develop such an implantable FPM for future TICIs and TIHAs system on condition that the improvement of Micro Electromechanical System and piezoelectric ceramic material technology would be applied to reduce its weight and minimize its size.

  17. Feasible pickup from intact ossicular chain with floating piezoelectric microphone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kang Hou-Yong

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objectives Many microphones have been developed to meet with the implantable requirement of totally implantable cochlear implant (TICI. However, a biocompatible one without destroying the intactness of the ossicular chain still remains under investigation. Such an implantable floating piezoelectric microphone (FPM has been manufactured and shows an efficient electroacoustic performance in vitro test at our lab. We examined whether it pick up sensitively from the intact ossicular chain and postulated whether it be an optimal implantable one. Methods Animal controlled experiment: five adult cats (eight ears were sacrificed as the model to test the electroacoustic performance of the FPM. Three groups were studied: (1 the experiment group (on malleus: the FPM glued onto the handle of the malleus of the intact ossicular chains; (2 negative control group (in vivo: the FPM only hung into the tympanic cavity; (3 positive control group (Hy-M30: a HiFi commercial microphone placed close to the site of the experiment ear. The testing speaker played pure tones orderly ranged from 0.25 to 8.0 kHz. The FPM inside the ear and the HiFi microphone simultaneously picked up acoustic vibration which recorded as .wav files to analyze. Results The FPM transformed acoustic vibration sensitively and flatly as did the in vitro test across the frequencies above 2.0 kHz, whereas inefficiently below 1.0 kHz for its overloading mass. Although the HiFi microphone presented more efficiently than the FPM did, there was no significant difference at 3.0 kHz and 8.0 kHz. Conclusions It is feasible to develop such an implantable FPM for future TICIs and TIHAs system on condition that the improvement of Micro Electromechanical System and piezoelectric ceramic material technology would be applied to reduce its weight and minimize its size.

  18. The uptake of radioactive iodine in rat intact Graafian follicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lieberman, L.M.; Lieberman, G.L.; Lieberman, M.E.

    1984-01-01

    The concentration of iodine-131 in the ovaries of mammals has important implications in the use of I-131 for the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease in women. The authors studied the I-131 uptake in whole ovaries and in isolated Graafian follicles of sexually mature rats. Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats, in groups of 5-6 animals, were injected IP with 10-50 μCi of I-131, at 3, 12, and 24 hrs prior to the day of proestrus and killed on the day of proestrus. The thyroid gland and ovaries were removed intact and these organs, as well as eight other tissue specimens, were weighed. The large preovulatory follicles (6-9/ovary) were then isolated under a dissecting microscope and the remaining ovary weighed. All samples were counted in a gamma well counter and the % dose/g estimated. The thyroid gland showed 23.7% dose/organ at 24 hrs. Blood decreased from 1.6% dose/g at 3 hrs to 0.5% dose/g at 24 hrs with the uterus showing 1.1% dose/g and 0.4% dose/g at the same times. Ovarian tissue was 0.5, 0.1, and 0.1% dose/g at 3,12, and 24 hrs respectively, while the intact Graafian follicles had from one-tenth to one-third the concentration of the ovary at the same times. (0.05, 0.03, and 0.03% dose/g). The authors found that the intact Graafian follicle concentrates approximately one-thirtieth to one-sixteenth of the I-131 in the blood and one-tenth to one-third of the I-131 in the ovary. This suggests that there is no active uptake of I-131 in the follicle or follicular fluid

  19. Calculation of ion currents across the inner membrane of functionally intact mitochondria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kane, Daniel A; Pavlov, Evgeny V

    2013-01-01

    Mitochondrial ion transport systems play a central role in cell physiology. Rates of Ca2+ and K+ transport across the inner mitochondrial membrane have been derived from the measurement of ion accumulation over time within functional isolated mitochondria or mitochondria of cultured cells. Alternatively, the electrical currents generated by ionic flux have been directly measured in purified and swollen mitochondrial samples (mitoplasts) or reconstituted channels, and typically range from 1 pA to several 100s pA. However, the direct electrophysiological approach necessarily requires extensive processing of the mitochondria prior to measurement, which can only be performed on isolated mitoplasts. To compare rates of mitochondrial ion transport measured in electrophysiological experiments to those measured in intact mitochondria and cells, we converted published rates of mitochondrial ion uptake into units of ionic current. We estimate that for monovalent ions, uptake by intact mitochondria at the rate of 1 nmol ∙ mg−1 protein ∙ min−1 is equivalent to 0.2 fA of current per whole single mitochondrion (0.4 fA for divalent ions). In intact mitochondria, estimated rates of electrogenic cation uptake are limited to 1–100 fA of integral current per single mitochondrion. These estimates are orders of magnitude lower than the currents through mitochondrial channels directly measured via patch-clamp or artificial lipid bilayer approaches. PMID:24037064

  20. Transport of beta-aminopropionitrile through intact skin or scar tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gibeault, J.D.; Cravens, R.B. Jr.; Chvapil, M.

    1989-01-01

    A lathyrogen, [ 14 C]aminopropionitrile (beta APN), was administered to 34 rats either in K-Y jelly or saline vehicles onto intact shaven skin or onto a healed splinted deep excision wound. The dynamics of beta APN transport and content in the skin or repair tissue was observed after 2, 5, 8, and 24 hr of topical administration. The repair tissue quickly absorbed the lathyrogen and reached maximum at the 2-hr sampling. The content of beta APN in the repair tissue was twice as high as that in K-Y jelly vehicle and remained high and stable for at least 24 hr only when beta APN was administered through a saline vehicle. The transport of beta APN through intact skin, irrespective of the vehicle tested, was slow and continuously increased. The study showed that almost 20% of the beta APN administered onto the wounded skin area was transported into the repair tissue within 2 hr. We suggest that, due to the absence of epidermal stratum corneum from the repair tissue, drugs, such as beta APN, penetrate quickly into the wound

  1. Enzymatic methylation of band 3 anion transporter in intact human erythrocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lou, L.L.; Clarke, S.

    1987-01-01

    Band 3, the anion transport protein of erythrocyte membranes, is a major methyl-accepting substrate of the intracellular erythrocyte protein carboxyl methyltransferase (S-adenosyl-L-methionine: protein-D-aspartate O-methyltransferase; EC 2.1.1.77). The localization of methylation sites in intact cells by analysis of proteolytic fragments indicated that sites were present in the cytoplasmic N-terminal domain as well as the membranous C-terminal portion of the polypeptide. The amino acid residues that serve as carboxyl methylation sites of the erythrocyte anion transporter were also investigated. 3 H-Methylated band 3 was purified from intact erythrocytes incubated with L-[methyl- 3 H]methionine and from trypsinized and lysed erythrocytes incubated with S-adenosyl-L-[methyl- 3 H]methionine. After proteolytic digestion with carboxypeptidase Y, D-aspartic acid beta-[ 3 H]methyl ester was isolated in low yields (9% and 1%, respectively) from each preparation. The bulk of the radioactivity was recovered as [ 3 H]methanol, and the amino acid residue(s) originally associated with these methyl groups could not be determined. No L-aspartic acid beta-[ 3 H]methyl ester or glutamyl gamma-[ 3 H]methyl ester was detected. The formation of D-aspartic acid beta-[ 3 H]methyl esters in this protein in intact cells resulted from protein carboxyl methyltransferase activity since it was inhibited by adenosine and homocysteine thiolactone, which increases the intracellular concentration of the potent product inhibitor S-adenosylhomocysteine, and cycloleucine, which prevents the formation of the substrate S-adenosyl-L-[methyl- 3 H]methionine

  2. Proceedings of the international workshop on mechanistic understanding of radionuclide migration in compacted/intact systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tachi, Yukio; Yui, Mikazu

    2010-03-01

    The international workshop on mechanistic understanding of radionuclide migration in compacted / intact systems was held at ENTRY, JAEA, Tokai on 21st - 23rd January, 2009. This workshop was hosted by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) as part of the project on the mechanistic model/database development for radionuclide sorption and diffusion behavior in compacted / intact systems. The overall goal of the project is to develop the mechanistic model / database for a consistent understanding and prediction of migration parameters and its uncertainties for performance assessment of geological disposal of radioactive waste. The objective of the workshop is to integrate the state-of-the-art of mechanistic sorption and diffusion model in compacted / intact systems, especially in bentonite / clay systems, and discuss the JAEA's mechanistic approaches and future challenges, especially the following discussions points; 1) What's the status and difficulties for mechanistic model/database development? 2) What's the status and difficulties for applicability of mechanistic model to the compacted/intact system? 3) What's the status and difficulties for obtaining evidences for mechanistic model? 4) What's the status and difficulties for standardization of experimental methodology for batch sorption and diffusion? 5) What's the uncertainties of transport parameters in radionuclides migration analysis due to a lack of understanding/experimental methodologies, and how do we derive them? This report includes workshop program, overview and materials of each presentation, summary of discussions. (author)

  3. Forest Loss in Protected Areas and Intact Forest Landscapes: A Global Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heino, Matias; Kummu, Matti; Makkonen, Marika; Mulligan, Mark; Verburg, Peter H; Jalava, Mika; Räsänen, Timo A

    2015-01-01

    In spite of the high importance of forests, global forest loss has remained alarmingly high during the last decades. Forest loss at a global scale has been unveiled with increasingly finer spatial resolution, but the forest extent and loss in protected areas (PAs) and in large intact forest landscapes (IFLs) have not so far been systematically assessed. Moreover, the impact of protection on preserving the IFLs is not well understood. In this study we conducted a consistent assessment of the global forest loss in PAs and IFLs over the period 2000-2012. We used recently published global remote sensing based spatial forest cover change data, being a uniform and consistent dataset over space and time, together with global datasets on PAs' and IFLs' locations. Our analyses revealed that on a global scale 3% of the protected forest, 2.5% of the intact forest, and 1.5% of the protected intact forest were lost during the study period. These forest loss rates are relatively high compared to global total forest loss of 5% for the same time period. The variation in forest losses and in protection effect was large among geographical regions and countries. In some regions the loss in protected forests exceeded 5% (e.g. in Australia and Oceania, and North America) and the relative forest loss was higher inside protected areas than outside those areas (e.g. in Mongolia and parts of Africa, Central Asia, and Europe). At the same time, protection was found to prevent forest loss in several countries (e.g. in South America and Southeast Asia). Globally, high area-weighted forest loss rates of protected and intact forests were associated with high gross domestic product and in the case of protected forests also with high proportions of agricultural land. Our findings reinforce the need for improved understanding of the reasons for the high forest losses in PAs and IFLs and strategies to prevent further losses.

  4. Intact proinsulin and beta-cell function in lean and obese subjects with and without type 2 diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røder, M E; Dinesen, B; Hartling, S G

    1999-01-01

    , total proinsulin immunoreactivity (PIM), intact insulin, and C-peptide (by radioimmunoassay) by specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in the fasting state and during a 120-min glucagon (1 mg i.v.) stimulation test. Lean (BMI 23.5 +/- 0.3 kg/m2) (LD) and obese (30.1 +/- 0.4 kg/m2) (OD) type 2...... diabetic patients matched for fasting glucose (10.2 +/- 0.6 vs. 10.3 +/- 0.4 mmol/l) were compared with age- and BMI-matched lean (22.4 +/- 0.6 kg/m2) (LC) and obese (30.8 +/- 0.9 kg/m2) (OC) normal control subjects. RESULTS: Diabetic patients (LD vs. LC and OD vs. OC) had elevated fasting levels of intact......, most pronounced in the lean group. The ratio of intact proinsulin to PIM was higher in diabetic patients after stimulation in both LD versus LC: 32 +/- 3 vs. 23 +/- 2%, and OD versus OC: 28 +/- 4 vs. 16 +/- 2%, both P obese normal subjects, intact proinsulin/PIM was lower both in the fasting...

  5. Protein methylation reactions in intact pea chloroplasts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niemi, K.J.

    1989-01-01

    Post-translational protein methylation was investigated in Pisum sativum chloroplasts. Intact pea chloroplasts were incubated with ( 3 H-methyl)-S-adenosylmethionine under various conditions. The chloroplasts were then separated into stromal and thylakoid fractions and analyzed for radioactivity transferred to protein. Light enhanced the magnitude of labeling in both fractions. One thylakoid polypeptide with an apparent molecular mass of 43 kDa was labeled only in the light. Several other thylakoid and stromal proteins were labeled in both light and dark-labeling conditions. Both base-labile methylation, carboxy-methylesters and base-stable groups, N-methylations were found. Further characterization of the methyl-transfer reactions will be presented

  6. Characterization of the anion sensitive ATPase in intact vacuoles of Kalanchoe diagremontiana

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kobza, J.; Uribe, E.G.

    1986-04-01

    A method for the isolation of intact vacuoles from K. daigremontiana was developed which produced high yields of relatively pure vacuoles as determined by marker enzyme contamination. Upon isolation, the vacuoles were stabilized by the inclusion of 5% (w/v) ficoll. Enzyme activity was insensitive to vanadate and azide but was strongly inhibited by DCCD. Enzyme activity was strictly dependent on the inclusion of Mg/sup 2 +/ and was stimulated by anions as depicted by the series, NO/sub 3//sup -/ < Br/sup -/ < SO/sub 4//sup -/ < HCO/sub 3//sup -/ < Cl/sup -/. It was found that in intact vacuoles the ATPase activity was stimulated by phosphate to a level equivalent to that found with the chloride. The enzyme exhibited Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a Km for Mg-ATP complex of 0.51 mM.

  7. Microseismic Analysis of Fracture of an Intact Rock Asperity Traversing a Sawcut Fault

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mclaskey, G.; Lockner, D. A.

    2017-12-01

    Microseismic events carry information related to stress state, fault geometry, and other subsurface properties, but their relationship to large and potentially damaging earthquakes is not well defined. We conducted laboratory rock mechanics experiments that highlight the interaction between a sawcut fault and an asperity composed of an intact rock "pin". The sample is a 76 mm diameter cylinder of Westerly granite with a 21 mm diameter cylinder (the pin) of intact Westerly granite that crosses the sawcut fault. Upon loading to 80 MPa in a triaxial machine, we first observed a slip event that ruptured the sawcut fault, slipped about 35 mm, but was halted by the rock pin. With continued loading, the rock pin failed in a swarm of thousands of M -7 seismic events similar to the localized microcracking that occurs during the final fracture nucleation phase in an intact rock sample. Once the pin was fractured to a critical point, it permitted complete rupture events on the sawcut fault (stick-slip instabilities). No seismicity was detected on the sawcut fault plane until the pin was sheared. Subsequent slip events were preceded by 10s of foreshocks, all located on the fault plane. We also identified an aseismic zone on the fault plane surrounding the fractured rock pin. A post-mortem analysis of the sample showed a thick gouge layer where the pin intersected the fault, suggesting that this gouge propped open the fault and prevented microseismic events in its vicinity. This experiment is an excellent case study in microseismicity since the events separate neatly into three categories: slip on the sawcut fault, fracture of the intact rock pin, and off-fault seismicity associated with pin-related rock joints. The distinct locations, timing, and focal mechanisms of the different categories of microseismic events allow us to study how their occurrence is related to the mechanics of the deforming rock.

  8. Failure to demonstrate morphologically the presence of colostral or milk cells in the wall of the gastrointestinal tract of the suckling neonatal mouse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, S.C.

    1981-01-01

    The possibility that intact cells may migrate from ingested colostrum and milk into the gut wall of the nursing neonate has been tested directly by means of radioautographic techniques. [ 3 H]Thymidine was continuously infused into female mice throughtout the last 6 days of their pregnancy. Upon delivery, their fully [ 3 H]thymidine-labelled litters were removed and given to nurse from unlabelled surrogate mothers whose own litters were borne simultaneously. These unlabelled litters were similarly removed immediately upon birth and given to the [ 3 H]thymidine-infused mothers to nurse. Infants labelled during gestation and mothers labelled during pregnancy continued to receive thrice-daily injections of isotope for 1-14 days and 1-18 h, respectively, after delivery. The stomach and adjacent portion of small intestine were removed from unlabelled infants nursing from labelled surrogate mothers at intervals of 1-18 h after beginning to suckle, the same tissues were removed from labelled infants nursing from unlabelled surrogate mothers and similarly prepared for radioautography. The results indicate that transepithelial migration of intact cells of the colostrum and milk does not appear to be the method by which immunological functions are adoptively transferred to the nursing neonatal mouse. (Auth.)

  9. Length of time domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) spend smelling urine of gonadectomised and intact conspecifics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riach, Anna C; Asquith, Rachel; Fallon, Melissa L D

    2017-09-01

    Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) use urine to communicate among themselves, however, it is unknown whether the gonadectomy (neutering or spaying) of a dog affects this communication in anyway. Urine samples from 10 intact and 10 gonadectomised, unfamiliar dogs were presented to 12 tester dogs to sniff under controlled conditions in a pilot study. The amount of time the tester dogs spent sniffing each sample was recorded. Overall, tester dogs were recorded smelling the urine of gonadectomised individuals for a longer time. In addition to the type of urine sample, the result is likely to have been influenced by the sex and status (gonadectomised or intact) of the tester dogs. The observed increase in the length of time spent sniffing urine from gonadectomised individuals could be explained by the tester dogs experiencing more difficulty in gaining information from the urine or facing more confusion while analysing the urine compared to the intact urine they have evolved to smell. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Assessment of plasminogen synthesis in vitro by mouse tumor cells using a competition radioimmunoassay for mouse plasminogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roblin, R.O.; Bell, T.E.; Young, P.L.

    1978-01-01

    A sensitive, specific competition radioimmunoassay for mouse plasmin(ogen) has been developed in order to determine whether mouse tumor cells can synthesize plasminogen in vitro. The rabbit anti-BALB/c mouse plasminogen antibodies used in the assay react with the plasminogen present in serum from BALB/c, C3H, AKR and C57BL/6 mice, and also recognized mouse plasmin. The competition radiommunoassay can detect as little as 50 ng of mouse plasminogen. No competition was observed with preparations of fetal calf, human and rabbit plasminogens. A variety of virus-transformed and mouse tumor cell lines were all found to contain less than 100 ng mouse plasminogen/mg of cell extract protein. Thus, if the plasminogen activator/plasmin system is important in the growth or movement of this group of tumor cells, the cells will be dependent upon the circulatory system of the host for their plasminogen supply. (Auth.)

  11. Apoptosis in mouse fetal and neonatal oocytes during meiotic prophase one

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hartshorne Geraldine M

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The vast majority of oocytes formed in the fetal ovary do not survive beyond birth. Possible reasons for their loss include the elimination of non-viable genetic constitutions arising through meiosis, however, the precise relationship between meiotic stages and prenatal apoptosis of oocytes remains elusive. We studied oocytes in mouse fetal and neonatal ovaries, 14.5–21 days post coitum, to examine the relationship between oocyte development and programmed cell death during meiotic prophase I. Results Microspreads of fetal and neonatal ovarian cells underwent immunocytochemistry for meiosis- and apoptosis-related markers. COR-1 (meiosis-specific highlighted axial elements of the synaptonemal complex and allowed definitive identification of the stages of meiotic prophase I. Labelling for cleaved poly-(ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP-1, an inactivated DNA repair protein, indicated apoptosis. The same oocytes were then labelled for DNA double strand breaks (DSBs using TUNEL. 1960 oocytes produced analysable results. Oocytes at all stages of meiotic prophase I stained for cleaved PARP-1 and/or TUNEL, or neither. Oocytes with fragmented (19.8% or compressed (21.2% axial elements showed slight but significant differences in staining for cleaved PARP-1 and TUNEL to those with intact elements. However, fragmentation of axial elements alone was not a good indicator of cell demise. Cleaved PARP-1 and TUNEL staining were not necessarily coincident, showing that TUNEL is not a reliable marker of apoptosis in oocytes. Conclusion Our data indicate that apoptosis can occur throughout meiotic prophase I in mouse fetal and early postnatal oocytes, with greatest incidence at the diplotene stage. Careful selection of appropriate markers for oocyte apoptosis is essential.

  12. Isolation and Properties of Intact Chromoplasts from Tomato Fruits

    OpenAIRE

    Norio, Iwatsuki; Ryuichi, Moriyama; Tadashi, Asahi; Laboratory of Biochemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Nagoya University; Laboratory of Biochemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Nagoya University; Laboratory of Biochemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Nagoya University

    1984-01-01

    Intact chromoplasts were isolated from tomato fruits at different ripening stages by Percoll density gradient centrifugation. The isolated chromoplast fractions were contaminated very little by other organelles, although the fraction from fully ripened fruits contained some mitochondria and microbodies. As the transformation of chloroplasts to chromoplasts proceeded, the density of the plastids decreased from 1.096 to 1.075g・cm^ and the decrease was related to a decrease in chlorophyll and an...

  13. Conductive hearing loss with an intact tympanic membrane due to non-inflammatory causes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Jin Hyuk; Lee, Min Young; Park, Ji Hye; Lee, Kyu-Yup; Lee, Sang Heun; Jang, Jeong Hun

    2016-04-01

    We analyzed audiologic and surgical findings in patients with conductive hearing loss (CHL) with an intact tympanic membrane (TM) that was of a non-inflammatory origin. We reviewed data from patients who underwent exploratory tympanotomy for CHL with intact TM from January 1995 to November 2012. Patients with diseases of non-inflammatory origin were enrolled (69 patients; 79 ears). Patients were categorized into two groups: non-trauma (50 ears) and trauma (29 ears). Demographic data, intraoperative findings, and audiologic results were obtained and analyzed. Overall, the second decade was the most common age of diagnosis in both the non-trauma and trauma groups. Operative findings showed that ossicular dislocation was more prevalent than ossicular fixation; all trauma group subjects had ossicular dislocation. Short columellization or partial ossicular replacement was the most frequently adopted surgical procedures in both groups. Overall, audiologically, air-conduction thresholds (ACs) and air-bone gaps were significantly improved over the short- and long-term period in both groups. However, the non-trauma group had significantly higher preoperative ACs than the trauma group, especially at low frequencies. This study provides clinicians with useful information regarding the clinical characteristics of CHL with intact TM of non-inflammatory origin. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Phase synchronization of neuronal noise in mouse hippocampal epileptiform dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serletis, Demitre; Carlen, Peter L; Valiante, Taufik A; Bardakjian, Berj L

    2013-02-01

    Organized brain activity is the result of dynamical, segregated neuronal signals that may be used to investigate synchronization effects using sophisticated neuroengineering techniques. Phase synchrony analysis, in particular, has emerged as a promising methodology to study transient and frequency-specific coupling effects across multi-site signals. In this study, we investigated phase synchronization in intracellular recordings of interictal and ictal epileptiform events recorded from pairs of cells in the whole (intact) mouse hippocampus. In particular, we focused our analysis on the background noise-like activity (NLA), previously reported to exhibit complex neurodynamical properties. Our results show evidence for increased linear and nonlinear phase coupling in NLA across three frequency bands [theta (4-10 Hz), beta (12-30 Hz) and gamma (30-80 Hz)] in the ictal compared to interictal state dynamics. We also present qualitative and statistical evidence for increased phase synchronization in the theta, beta and gamma frequency bands from paired recordings of ictal NLA. Overall, our results validate the use of background NLA in the neurodynamical study of epileptiform transitions and suggest that what is considered "neuronal noise" is amenable to synchronization effects in the spatiotemporal domain.

  15. Insight into the Supramolecular Architecture of Intact Diatom Biosilica from DNP-Supported Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jantschke, Anne; Koers, Eline; Mance, Deni; Weingarth, Markus; Brunner, Eike; Baldus, Marc

    2015-12-07

    Diatom biosilica is an inorganic/organic hybrid with interesting properties. The molecular architecture of the organic material at the atomic and nanometer scale has so far remained unknown, in particular for intact biosilica. A DNP-supported ssNMR approach assisted by microscopy, MS, and MD simulations was applied to study the structural organization of intact biosilica. For the first time, the secondary structure elements of tightly biosilica-associated native proteins in diatom biosilica were characterized in situ. Our data suggest that these proteins are rich in a limited set of amino acids and adopt a mixture of random-coil and β-strand conformations. Furthermore, biosilica-associated long-chain polyamines and carbohydrates were characterized, thereby leading to a model for the supramolecular organization of intact biosilica. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. The Mouse Tumor Biology Database: A Comprehensive Resource for Mouse Models of Human Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krupke, Debra M; Begley, Dale A; Sundberg, John P; Richardson, Joel E; Neuhauser, Steven B; Bult, Carol J

    2017-11-01

    Research using laboratory mice has led to fundamental insights into the molecular genetic processes that govern cancer initiation, progression, and treatment response. Although thousands of scientific articles have been published about mouse models of human cancer, collating information and data for a specific model is hampered by the fact that many authors do not adhere to existing annotation standards when describing models. The interpretation of experimental results in mouse models can also be confounded when researchers do not factor in the effect of genetic background on tumor biology. The Mouse Tumor Biology (MTB) database is an expertly curated, comprehensive compendium of mouse models of human cancer. Through the enforcement of nomenclature and related annotation standards, MTB supports aggregation of data about a cancer model from diverse sources and assessment of how genetic background of a mouse strain influences the biological properties of a specific tumor type and model utility. Cancer Res; 77(21); e67-70. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

  17. Prototypic and Arkypallidal Neurons in the Dopamine-Intact External Globus Pallidus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdi, Azzedine; Mallet, Nicolas; Mohamed, Foad Y.; Sharott, Andrew; Dodson, Paul D.; Nakamura, Kouichi C.; Suri, Sana; Avery, Sophie V.; Larvin, Joseph T.; Garas, Farid N.; Garas, Shady N.; Vinciati, Federica; Morin, Stéphanie; Bezard, Erwan

    2015-01-01

    Studies in dopamine-depleted rats indicate that the external globus pallidus (GPe) contains two main types of GABAergic projection cell; so-called “prototypic” and “arkypallidal” neurons. Here, we used correlative anatomical and electrophysiological approaches in rats to determine whether and how this dichotomous organization applies to the dopamine-intact GPe. Prototypic neurons coexpressed the transcription factors Nkx2-1 and Lhx6, comprised approximately two-thirds of all GPe neurons, and were the major GPe cell type innervating the subthalamic nucleus (STN). In contrast, arkypallidal neurons expressed the transcription factor FoxP2, constituted just over one-fourth of GPe neurons, and innervated the striatum but not STN. In anesthetized dopamine-intact rats, molecularly identified prototypic neurons fired at relatively high rates and with high regularity, regardless of brain state (slow-wave activity or spontaneous activation). On average, arkypallidal neurons fired at lower rates and regularities than prototypic neurons, and the two cell types could be further distinguished by the temporal coupling of their firing to ongoing cortical oscillations. Complementing the activity differences observed in vivo, the autonomous firing of identified arkypallidal neurons in vitro was slower and more variable than that of prototypic neurons, which tallied with arkypallidal neurons displaying lower amplitudes of a “persistent” sodium current important for such pacemaking. Arkypallidal neurons also exhibited weaker driven and rebound firing compared with prototypic neurons. In conclusion, our data support the concept that a dichotomous functional organization, as actioned by arkypallidal and prototypic neurons with specialized molecular, structural, and physiological properties, is fundamental to the operations of the dopamine-intact GPe. PMID:25926446

  18. Integrity of 111In-radiolabeled superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in the mouse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Haotian; Kumar, Rajiv; Nagesha, Dattatri; Duclos, Richard I.; Sridhar, Srinivas; Gatley, Samuel J.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: Iron-oxide nanoparticles can act as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), while radiolabeling the same platform with nuclear medicine isotopes allows imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) or single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), modalities that offer better quantification. For successful translation of these multifunctional imaging platforms to clinical use, it is imperative to evaluate the degree to which the association between radioactive label and iron oxide core remains intact in vivo. Methods: We prepared iron oxide nanoparticles stabilized by oleic acid and phospholipids which were further radiolabeled with 59 Fe, 14 C-oleic acid, and 111 In. Results: Mouse biodistributions showed 111 In preferentially localized in reticuloendothelial organs, liver, spleen and bone. However, there were greater levels of 59 Fe than 111 In in liver and spleen, but lower levels of 14 C. Conclusions: While there is some degree of dissociation between the 111 In labeled component of the nanoparticle and the iron oxide core, there is extensive dissociation of the oleic acid component

  19. Restricted expression of Neuroglobin in the mouse retina and co-localization with Melanopsin and Tyrosine Hydroxylase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hundahl, C.A.; Fahrenkrug, J.; Luuk, H.; Hay-Schmidt, A.; Hannibal, J.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Restricted Neuroglobin expression in the mouse retina. ► Antibody validation using Neuroglobin-null mice. ► Co-expression of Neuroglobin with Melanopsin and tyrosine hydroxylase. ► No effect of Neuroglobin deficiency on neuronal survival. -- Abstract: Neuroglobin (Ngb), a neuronal specific oxygen binding heme-globin, reported to be expressed at high levels in most layers of the murine retina. Ngb’s function is presently unknown, but based on its high expression level and oxygen binding capabilities Ngb was proposed to function as an oxygen reservoir facilitating oxygen metabolism in highly active neurons or to function as a neuroprotectant. In the present study, we re-examined the expression pattern of Ngb in the retina using a highly validated antibody. Furthermore, intactness of retino-hypothalamic projections and the retinal expression level of Melanopsin and Tyrosine Hydroxylase were investigated in Ngb-null mice. Ngb-immunoreactivity was found in a few neurons of the ganglion cell and inner nuclear layers co-expressing Melanopsin and Tyrosine Hydroxylase, respectively. Ngb deficiency neither affected the level of Melanopsin and Tyrosine Hydroxylase proteins nor the intactness of PACAP-positive retinohypothalamic projections in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Based on the present results, it seems unlikely that Ngb could have a major role in retinal oxygen homeostasis and neuronal survival under normal conditions. The present study suggests that a number of previously published reports have relied on antibodies with dubious specificity.

  20. Restricted expression of Neuroglobin in the mouse retina and co-localization with Melanopsin and Tyrosine Hydroxylase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hundahl, C.A., E-mail: c.hundahl@gmail.com [Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Bispebjerg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark); Centre of Excellence for Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu (Estonia); Department of Physiology, University of Tartu, Tartu (Estonia); Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, The Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark); Fahrenkrug, J. [Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Bispebjerg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark); Luuk, H. [Centre of Excellence for Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu (Estonia); Department of Physiology, University of Tartu, Tartu (Estonia); Hay-Schmidt, A. [Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, The Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark); Hannibal, J. [Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Bispebjerg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark)

    2012-08-17

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Restricted Neuroglobin expression in the mouse retina. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Antibody validation using Neuroglobin-null mice. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Co-expression of Neuroglobin with Melanopsin and tyrosine hydroxylase. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer No effect of Neuroglobin deficiency on neuronal survival. -- Abstract: Neuroglobin (Ngb), a neuronal specific oxygen binding heme-globin, reported to be expressed at high levels in most layers of the murine retina. Ngb's function is presently unknown, but based on its high expression level and oxygen binding capabilities Ngb was proposed to function as an oxygen reservoir facilitating oxygen metabolism in highly active neurons or to function as a neuroprotectant. In the present study, we re-examined the expression pattern of Ngb in the retina using a highly validated antibody. Furthermore, intactness of retino-hypothalamic projections and the retinal expression level of Melanopsin and Tyrosine Hydroxylase were investigated in Ngb-null mice. Ngb-immunoreactivity was found in a few neurons of the ganglion cell and inner nuclear layers co-expressing Melanopsin and Tyrosine Hydroxylase, respectively. Ngb deficiency neither affected the level of Melanopsin and Tyrosine Hydroxylase proteins nor the intactness of PACAP-positive retinohypothalamic projections in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Based on the present results, it seems unlikely that Ngb could have a major role in retinal oxygen homeostasis and neuronal survival under normal conditions. The present study suggests that a number of previously published reports have relied on antibodies with dubious specificity.

  1. Ingested soluble CD14 from milk is transferred intact into the blood of newborn rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Tonya L; Spencer, William J; Davis, Laura D R; Harrold, Joann; Mack, David R; Altosaar, Illimar

    2014-02-01

    Milk acts as an edible immune system that is transferred from mother to newborn. Soluble Cluster of Differentiation 14 (sCD14) is a protein found in significant quantities in human milk (~8-29 µg/ml). At a 10-fold lower concentration in the blood (~3 µg/ml), the most notable role of sCD14 is to sequester lipopolysaccharides of Gram-negative bacteria from immune cells. To explore the pharmacodynamics of this milk protein and its biological fate, the biodistribution of radiolabeled sCD14 ((14)C, (125)I) was monitored in 10-d-old rat pups. Up to 3.4 ± 2.2% of the radiolabeled sCD14 administered was observed, intact, in the pup blood for up to 8 h post-ingestion. Additionally, 30.3 ± 13.0% of the radiolabeled sCD14 administered was observed degraded in the stomach at 8 h post-ingestion. A reservoir of intact, administered sCD14 (3.2 ± 0.3%), however, remained in the stomach at 8 h post-ingestion. Intact sCD14 was observed in the small intestine at 5.5 ± 1.6% of the dose fed at 8 h post-ingestion. The presence of intact sCD14 in the blood and the gastrointestinal tract of newborns post-ingestion has implications in the development of allergies, obesity, and other inflammation-related pathogeneses later in life.

  2. Beta Adrenergic Regulation of Intrapulmonary Arteriovenous Anastomoses in Intact Rat and Isolated Rat Lungs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melissa L. Bates

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses (IPAVA allow large diameter particles of venous origin to bypass the pulmonary capillary bed and embolize the systemic arterial circulation. IPAVA have been routinely observed in healthy humans with exercise, hypoxia, and catecholamine infusion, but the mechanism by which they are recruited is not well-defined. We hypothesized that beta-adrenergic receptor stimulation recruits IPAVA and that receptor blockade would limit hypoxia-induced IPAVA recruitment. To test our hypothesis, we evaluated the transpulmonary passage of microspheres in intact rats and isolated rats lung infused with the beta-adrenergic receptor agonist isoproterenol. We also evaluated IPAVA recruitment in intact rats with hypoxia and the beta-adrenergic receptor blocker propranolol. We found that IPAVA are recruited in the intact rat by isoproterenol and their recruitment by hypoxia can be minimized by propranolol, suggesting a role for the adrenergic system in the recruitment of IPAVA by hypoxia. IPAVA recruitment is completely abolished by ventilation with 100% oxygen. Isoproterenol also recruits IPAVA in isolated rat lungs. The fact that isoproterenol can recruit IPAVA in isolated lungs, without increased pulmonary flow, suggests that elevated cardiac output is not required for IPAVA recruitment.

  3. Perineal hernia repair using an autologous tunica vaginalis communis in nine intact male dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pratummintra, Kittiya; Chuthatep, Suwicha; Banlunara, Wijit; Kalpravidh, Marissak

    2013-01-01

    Perineal hernia in dogs is very problematic and mostly requires surgical reconstruction of the weak pelvic diaphragm. Tissue or synthetic grafts have been used for the correction after failure of the conventional herniorrhaphy. Aim of this clinical trial was to assess the possible use of the autologous tunica vaginalis communis as a free graft for perineal hernia repair in intact male dogs. Seven unilateral and 2 bilateral perineal hernias in nine intact male dogs free from testicular and scrotal neoplasms were included in this study. The median surgical time for unilateral herniorrhaphy was 75 min. The median follow-up time was 13 months. The success of the autografting, based on no recurrence and comfort of the animals during urination and defecation, was found in ten of 11 hernias; giving a success rate of 90.91%. One hernia (9.09%) recurred 10 days after surgery. Histopathological examination of the apposing area between the graft and the adjacent tissue, taken during the repair of the recurred case at day 20, revealed neovascularization and connective tissue ingrowth. In conclusion, the tunica vaginalis autograft can be used for perineal herniorrhaphy in intact male dogs.

  4. Metabolism of inhaled ethane and pentane by the intact rat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daugherty, M.S.; Luddent, T.M.; Burk, R.F.

    1986-01-01

    Measurement of exhaled ethane or pentane is a noninvasive technique for studying in vivo lipid peroxidation. Many past studies have assumed that pentane and ethane are not metabolized. Radiolabeled ( 14 C) ethane and pentane were used to study the disposition of these compounds in intact rats. Rats were placed for 8 h in a closed plexiglass chamber fitted with a system for replenishing chamber atmospheric O 2 . Evolved CO 2 was trapped by recirculating chamber air through 3 N NaOH contained in a vessel external to the chamber. Radiolabeled ethane or pentane was injected into the chamber at the start of each experiment. The percent of 14 C-activity added to the chamber recovered in the CO 2 trap, urine, and chamber air at the end of the experiment (8 h) in the [ 14 C]-ethane (n=5) and [ 14 C]-pentane (n=4) studies are presented. Results indicate that both ethane and pentane are metabolized to CO 2 in the intact rat. Possible changes in ethane and pentane metabolism must be considered if the exhalation rates of these hydrocarbons are to be used as indices of in vivo lipid peroxidation

  5. Inhibition of fumonisin B1 cytotoxicity by nanosilicate platelets during mouse embryo development.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Jing Liao

    Full Text Available Nanosilicate platelets (NSP, the form of natural silicate clay that was exfoliated from montmorillonite (MMT, is widely used as a feed additive for its high non-specific binding capacity with mycotoxins such as fumonisin B1 (FB1, and has been evaluated its safety for biomedical use including cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and lethal dosage (LD. In the study, we further examined its toxicity on the development of CD1 mouse embryos and its capacity to prevent teratogenesis-induced by FB1. In vitro cultures, NSP did not disturb the development and the quality of intact pre-implantation mouse embryos. Further, newborn mice from females consumed with NSP showed no abnormalities. NSP had an unexpected high adsorption capacity in vitro. In contrast to female mice consumed with FB1 only, a very low residual level of FB1 in the circulation, reduced incidence of neutral tube defects and significantly increased fetal weight were observed in the females consumed with FB1 and NSP, suggesting a high alleviation effect of NSP on FB1 in vivo. Furthermore, FB1 treatment disturbed the gene expression of sphingolipid metabolism enzymes (longevity assurance homolog 5, LASS 5; sphingosine kinase 1, Sphk1; sphingosine kinase 2, Sphk2; sphingosine 1- phosphate lyase, Sgpl1; sphingosine 1-phosphate phosphatase, Sgpp1 in the maternal liver, uterus, fetus, and placenta, but NSP administration reversed the perturbations. Based on these findings, we conclude that NSP is a feasible and effective agent for supplementary use in reducing the toxicity of FB1 to animals.

  6. The Mouse That Soared

    Science.gov (United States)

    2004-09-01

    Astronomers have used an X-ray image to make the first detailed study of the behavior of high-energy particles around a fast moving pulsar. The image, from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, shows the shock wave created as a pulsar plows supersonically through interstellar space. These results will provide insight into theories for the production of powerful winds of matter and antimatter by pulsars. Chandra's image of the glowing cloud, known as the Mouse, shows a stubby bright column of high-energy particles, about four light years in length, swept back by the pulsar's interaction with interstellar gas. The intense source at the head of the X-ray column is the pulsar, estimated to be moving through space at about 1.3 million miles per hour. VLA Radio Image of the Mouse, Full Field VLA Radio Image of the Mouse, Full Field A cone-shaped cloud of radio-wave-emitting particles envelopes the X-ray column. The Mouse, a.k.a. G359.23-0.82, was discovered in 1987 by radio astronomers using the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array in New Mexico. It gets its name from its appearance in radio images that show a compact snout, a bulbous body, and a remarkable long, narrow, tail that extends for about 55 light years. "A few dozen pulsar wind nebulae are known, including the spectacular Crab Nebula, but none have the Mouse's combination of relatively young age and incredibly rapid motion through interstellar space," said Bryan Gaensler of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and lead author of a paper on the Mouse that will appear in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal. "We effectively are seeing a supersonic cosmic wind tunnel, in which we can study the effects of a pulsar's motion on its pulsar wind nebula, and test current theories." Illustration of the Mouse System Illustration of the Mouse System Pulsars are known to be rapidly spinning, highly magnetized neutron stars -- objects so dense that a mass equal to that of the Sun is packed into a

  7. Burn mouse models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Calum, Henrik; Høiby, Niels; Moser, Claus

    2014-01-01

    Severe thermal injury induces immunosuppression, involving all parts of the immune system, especially when large fractions of the total body surface area are affected. An animal model was established to characterize the burn-induced immunosuppression. In our novel mouse model a 6 % third-degree b......Severe thermal injury induces immunosuppression, involving all parts of the immune system, especially when large fractions of the total body surface area are affected. An animal model was established to characterize the burn-induced immunosuppression. In our novel mouse model a 6 % third...... with infected burn wound compared with the burn wound only group. The burn mouse model resembles the clinical situation and provides an opportunity to examine or develop new strategies like new antibiotics and immune therapy, in handling burn wound victims much....

  8. A Transgenic Tri-Modality Reporter Mouse

    OpenAIRE

    Yan, Xinrui; Ray, Pritha; Paulmurugan, Ramasamy; Tong, Ricky; Gong, Yongquan; Sathirachinda, Ataya; Wu, Joseph C.; Gambhir, Sanjiv S.

    2013-01-01

    Transgenic mouse with a stably integrated reporter gene(s) can be a valuable resource for obtaining uniformly labeled stem cells, tissues, and organs for various applications. We have generated a transgenic mouse model that ubiquitously expresses a tri-fusion reporter gene (fluc2-tdTomato-ttk) driven by a constitutive chicken β-actin promoter. This "Tri-Modality Reporter Mouse" system allows one to isolate most cells from this donor mouse and image them for bioluminescent (fluc2), fluorescent...

  9. Operative findings of conductive hearing loss with intact tympanic membrane and normal temporal bone computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Se-Hyung; Cho, Yang-Sun; Kim, Hye Jeong; Kim, Hyung-Jin

    2014-06-01

    Despite recent technological advances in diagnostic methods including imaging technology, it is often difficult to establish a preoperative diagnosis of conductive hearing loss (CHL) in patients with an intact tympanic membrane (TM). Especially, in patients with a normal temporal bone computed tomography (TBCT), preoperative diagnosis is more difficult. We investigated middle ear disorders encountered in patients with CHL involving an intact TM and normal TBCT. We also analyzed the surgical results with special reference to the pathology. We reviewed the medical records of 365 patients with intact TM, who underwent exploratory tympanotomy for CHL. Fifty nine patients (67 ears, eight bilateral surgeries) had a normal preoperative TBCT findings reported by neuro-radiologists. Demographic data, otologic history, TM findings, preoperative imaging findings, intraoperative findings, and pre- and postoperative audiologic data were obtained and analyzed. Exploration was performed most frequently in the second and fifth decades. The most common postoperative diagnosis was stapedial fixation with non-progressive hearing loss. The most commonly performed hearing-restoring procedure was stapedotomy with piston wire prosthesis insertion. Various types of hearing-restoring procedures during exploration resulted in effective hearing improvement, especially with better outcome in the ossicular chain fixation group. In patients with CHL who have intact TM and normal TBCT, we should consider an exploratory tympanotomy for exact diagnosis and hearing improvement. Information of the common operative findings from this study may help in preoperative counseling.

  10. Human skin penetration of silver nanoparticles through intact and damaged skin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larese, Francesca Filon; D'Agostin, Flavia; Crosera, Matteo; Adami, Gianpiero; Renzi, Nadia; Bovenzi, Massimo; Maina, Giovanni

    2009-01-01

    There is a growing interest on nanoparticle safety for topical use. The benefits of nanoparticles have been shown in several scientific fields, but little is known about their potential to penetrate the skin. This study aims at evaluating in vitro skin penetration of silver nanoparticles. Experiments were performed using the Franz diffusion cell method with intact and damaged human skin. Physiological solution was used as receiving phase and 70 μg/cm 2 of silver nanoparticles coated with polyvinylpirrolidone dispersed in synthetic sweat were applied as donor phase to the outer surface of the skin for 24 h. The receptor fluid measurements were performed by electro thermal atomic absorption spectroscopy (ETAAS). Human skin penetration was also determined by using transmission electron microscope (TEM) to verify the location of silver nanoparticles in exposed membranes. Median silver concentrations of 0.46 ng cm -2 (range -2 (range 0.43-11.6) were found in the receiving solutions of cells where the nanoparticles solution was applied on intact skin (eight cells) and on damaged skin (eight cells), respectively. Twenty-four hours silver flux permeation in damaged skin was 0.62 ± 0.2 ng cm -2 with a lag time <1 h. Our experimental data showed that silver nanoparticles absorption through intact and damaged skin was very low but detectable, and that in case of damaged skin it was possible an increasing permeation of silver applied as nanoparticles. Moreover, silver nanoparticles could be detected in the stratum corneum and the outermost surface of the epidermis by electron microscopy. We demonstrated for the first time that silver applied as nanoparticles coated with polyvinylpirrolidone is able to permeate the damaged skin in an in vitro diffusion cell system

  11. Spatially Rearranged Object Parts Can Facilitate Perception of Intact Whole Objects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura eCacciamani

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The familiarity of an object depends on the spatial arrangement of its parts; when the parts are spatially rearranged, they form a novel, unrecognizable configuration. Yet the same collection of parts comprises both the familiar and novel configuration. Is it possible that the collection of familiar parts activates a representation of the intact familiar configuration even when they are spatially rearranged? We presented novel configurations as primes before test displays that assayed effects on figure-ground perception from memories of intact familiar objects. In our test displays, two equal-area regions shared a central border; one region depicted a portion of a familiar object. Previous research with such displays has shown that participants are more likely to perceive the region depicting a familiar object as the figure and the abutting region as its ground when the familiar object is depicted in its upright orientation rather than upside down. The novel primes comprised either the same or a different collection of parts as the familiar object in the test display (part-rearranged and control primes, respectively. We found that participants were more likely to perceive the familiar region as figure in upright vs. inverted displays following part-rearranged primes but not control primes. Thus, priming with a novel configuration comprising the same familiar parts as the upcoming figure-ground display facilitated orientation-dependent effects of object memories on figure assignment. Similar results were obtained when the spatially rearranged collection of parts was suggested on the groundside of the prime’s border, suggesting that familiar parts in novel configurations access the representation of their corresponding intact whole object before figure assignment. These data demonstrate that familiar parts access memories of familiar objects even when they are arranged in a novel configuration.

  12. Spatially rearranged object parts can facilitate perception of intact whole objects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cacciamani, Laura; Ayars, Alisabeth A; Peterson, Mary A

    2014-01-01

    The familiarity of an object depends on the spatial arrangement of its parts; when the parts are spatially rearranged, they form a novel, unrecognizable configuration. Yet the same collection of parts comprises both the familiar and novel configuration. Is it possible that the collection of familiar parts activates a representation of the intact familiar configuration even when they are spatially rearranged? We presented novel configurations as primes before test displays that assayed effects on figure-ground perception from memories of intact familiar objects. In our test displays, two equal-area regions shared a central border; one region depicted a portion of a familiar object. Previous research with such displays has shown that participants are more likely to perceive the region depicting a familiar object as the figure and the abutting region as its ground when the familiar object is depicted in its upright orientation rather than upside down. The novel primes comprised either the same or a different collection of parts as the familiar object in the test display (part-rearranged and control primes, respectively). We found that participants were more likely to perceive the familiar region as figure in upright vs. inverted displays following part-rearranged primes but not control primes. Thus, priming with a novel configuration comprising the same familiar parts as the upcoming figure-ground display facilitated orientation-dependent effects of object memories on figure assignment. Similar results were obtained when the spatially rearranged collection of parts was suggested on the groundside of the prime's border, suggesting that familiar parts in novel configurations access the representation of their corresponding intact whole object before figure assignment. These data demonstrate that familiar parts access memories of familiar objects even when they are arranged in a novel configuration.

  13. Spectrophotometric Evaluation of the Pulpal Peroxide Levels in Intact and Restored Teeth - An Invitro Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patri, Gaurav; Acharya, Gourismita; Agrawal, Pratik; Panda, Vijeta

    2016-08-01

    Hydrogen peroxide (30%) is a commonly used "in office" bleaching agent. Deleterious effects of hydrogen peroxide on the pulp have been observed. The present study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the penetration of 30% hydrogen peroxide into the pulp chamber through intact teeth and through the surface of teeth, restored with either hybrid composite or Resin Modified Glass Ionomer Cement (RMGIC). Sixty extracted human maxillary central incisors were selected and divided into six groups. Two groups were restored with hybrid composite resin and two with RMGIC, while two groups were left intact. The teeth with acetate buffer solution in their pulp cavity were then immersed in either 30% hydrogen peroxide or distilled water depending upon the group, for 60 minutes at 37°C. Then horseradish peroxidase and leucocrystal violet were added to the acetate buffer solution present in the pulp chamber after it was transferred to a test tube and the optical density of the resultant blue solution obtained was measured spectrophotometrically. The data obtained were analyzed using one way ANOVA and Student's t-test. The data obtained established that hydrogen peroxide penetrated into the pulp from the bleaching agent used. Hydrogen peroxide (30%) showed the highest pulpal peroxide level in teeth restored with RMGIC followed by teeth restored with hybrid composite resin and the least amount of penetration was observed in intact teeth. The amount of peroxide penetration into the tooth is more through restored tooth than intact tooth and is also dependant on the type of restorative materials used.

  14. The relationships between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being in cognitively intact nursing home patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haugan, Gørill; Rannestad, Toril; Hammervold, Randi; Garåsen, Helge; Espnes, Geir A

    2014-03-01

    Self-transcendence is considered a developmental process of personal maturity and a vital resource of well-being in later adulthood. Measurement of the associations between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being in cognitively intact nursing home patients has not been previously published. The aim of this study was to identify the relationships between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being in cognitively intact nursing home patients. A cross-sectional design using the self-transcendence scale and the FACIT-Sp spiritual well-being questionnaire was adopted. A sample of 202 cognitively intact nursing home patients in mid-Norway was selected to respond to the questionnaires in 2008 and 2009. Statistical analyses were conducted using lisrel 8.8 (Scientific Software International, Chicago, IL, USA) and structural equation modelling. A hypothesised structural equation model comprising a two-factor construct of self-transcendence and a three-factor construct of spiritual well-being demonstrated significant direct relationships between self-transcendence and spiritual well-being and total effects of self-transcendence on spiritual well-being. Facilitating patients' self-transcendence, both interpersonally and intrapersonally, might increase spiritual well-being among cognitively intact nursing home patients, which is seen to be of great importance to nursing home patients' overall satisfaction and satisfaction with staff. The two-factor construct of self-transcendence and the three-factor construct of FACIT-Sp allow a more complex examination of the associations between the constructs and prove more specific guidelines for nursing interventions promoting well-being in nursing home patients. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  15. Differential effects of androgens on coronary blood flow regulation and arteriolar diameter in intact and castrated swine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O’Connor Erin K

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Low endogenous testosterone levels have been shown to be a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular benefits associated with testosterone replacement therapy are being advocated; however, the effects of endogenous testosterone levels on acute coronary vasomotor responses to androgen administration are not clear. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of acute androgen administration on in vivo coronary conductance and in vitro coronary microvascular diameter in intact and castrated male swine. Methods Pigs received intracoronary infusions of physiologic levels (1–100 nM of testosterone, the metabolite 5α-dihydrotestosterone, and the epimer epitestosterone while left anterior descending coronary blood flow and mean arterial pressure were continuously monitored. Following sacrifice, coronary arterioles were isolated, cannulated, and exposed to physiologic concentrations (1–100 nM of testosterone, 5α-dihydrotestosterone, and epitestosterone. To evaluate effects of the androgen receptor on acute androgen dilation responses, real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry for androgen receptor were performed on conduit and resistance coronary vessels. Results In vivo, testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone produced greater increases in coronary conductance in the intact compared to the castrated males. In vitro, percent maximal dilation of microvessels was similar between intact and castrated males for testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone. In both studies epitestosterone produced significant increases in conductance and microvessel diameter from baseline in the intact males. Androgen receptor mRNA expression and immunohistochemical staining were similar in intact and castrated males. Conclusions Acute coronary vascular responses to exogenous androgen administration are increased by endogenous testosterone, an effect unrelated to changes in androgen receptor expression.

  16. The effect of hepatoprotective preparations thioctacid and flavobion on histones in intact and regenerating lever in irradiated rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozhurkova, M.; Kropachova, E.; Mishurova, R.; Reksa, R.

    1992-01-01

    The changes in concentration, total content of histones and relative proportion of individual histone fractions in intact and regenerating liver were followed in rats after administration of hepatoprotective agents flavobion and thioctacid and after whole-body gamma irradiation with a dose 5.7 Gy. Thioctacid alone caused an increase in histone concentration in intact liver whereas flavobion alone did not produce significant quantitative changes. Irradiation alone decreased markedly the concentration and total content of histones in intact as well as regenerating liver of unprotected rats. Administration of thioctacid or flavobion protected from these quantitative histone changes or alleviated them consideradly. In relative proportion of individual histone fractions, the most profound changes were found in H1 histone after flavobion application

  17. Role of a Ubiquitously Expressed Receptor in the Vertebrate Olfactory System

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeMaria, Shannon; Berke, Allison P.; Van Name, Eric; Heravian, Anisa; Ferreira, Todd

    2013-01-01

    Odorant cues are recognized by receptors expressed on olfactory sensory neurons, the primary sensory neurons of the olfactory epithelium. Odorant receptors typically obey the “one receptor, one neuron” rule, in which the receptive field of the olfactory neuron is determined by the singular odorant receptor that it expresses. Odor-evoked receptor activity across the population of olfactory neurons is then interpreted by the brain to identify the molecular nature of the odorant stimulus. In the present study, we characterized the properties of a C family G-protein-coupled receptor that, unlike most other odorant receptors, is expressed in a large population of microvillous sensory neurons in the zebrafish olfactory epithelium and the mouse vomeronasal organ. We found that this receptor, OlfCc1 in zebrafish and its murine ortholog Vmn2r1, is a calcium-dependent, low-sensitivity receptor specific for the hydrophobic amino acids isoleucine, leucine, and valine. Loss-of-function experiments in zebrafish embryos demonstrate that OlfCc1 is required for olfactory responses to a diverse mixture of polar, nonpolar, acidic, and basic amino acids. OlfCc1 was also found to promote localization of other OlfC receptor family members to the plasma membrane in heterologous cells. Together, these results suggest that the broadly expressed OlfCc1 is required for amino acid detection by the olfactory system and suggest that it plays a role in the function and/or intracellular trafficking of other olfactory and vomeronasal receptors with which it is coexpressed. PMID:24048853

  18. Eliminating Glutamatergic Input onto Horizontal Cells Changes the Dynamic Range and Receptive Field Organization of Mouse Retinal Ganglion Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ströh, Sebastian; Puller, Christian; Swirski, Sebastian; Hölzel, Maj-Britt; van der Linde, Lea I S; Segelken, Jasmin; Schultz, Konrad; Block, Christoph; Monyer, Hannah; Willecke, Klaus; Weiler, Reto; Greschner, Martin; Janssen-Bienhold, Ulrike; Dedek, Karin

    2018-02-21

    In the mammalian retina, horizontal cells receive glutamatergic inputs from many rod and cone photoreceptors and return feedback signals to them, thereby changing photoreceptor glutamate release in a light-dependent manner. Horizontal cells also provide feedforward signals to bipolar cells. It is unclear, however, how horizontal cell signals also affect the temporal, spatial, and contrast tuning in retinal output neurons, the ganglion cells. To study this, we generated a genetically modified mouse line in which we eliminated the light dependency of feedback by deleting glutamate receptors from mouse horizontal cells. This genetic modification allowed us to investigate the impact of horizontal cells on ganglion cell signaling independent of the actual mode of feedback in the outer retina and without pharmacological manipulation of signal transmission. In control and genetically modified mice (both sexes), we recorded the light responses of transient OFF-α retinal ganglion cells in the intact retina. Excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) were reduced and the cells were tuned to lower temporal frequencies and higher contrasts, presumably because photoreceptor output was attenuated. Moreover, receptive fields of recorded cells showed a significantly altered surround structure. Our data thus suggest that horizontal cells are responsible for adjusting the dynamic range of retinal ganglion cells and, together with amacrine cells, contribute to the center/surround organization of ganglion cell receptive fields in the mouse. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Horizontal cells represent a major neuronal class in the mammalian retina and provide lateral feedback and feedforward signals to photoreceptors and bipolar cells, respectively. The mode of signal transmission remains controversial and, moreover, the contribution of horizontal cells to visual processing is still elusive. To address the question of how horizontal cells affect retinal output signals, we recorded the light

  19. Effects of intraoperative electron irradiation in the dog on cell turnover in intact and surgically-anastomosed aorta and intestine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sindelar, W.F.; Morrow, B.M.; Travis, E.L.; Tepper, J.; Merkel, A.B.; Kranda, K.; Terrill, R.

    1983-01-01

    Adults dogs were subjected to laparotomy and intraoperative electron irradiation after division and reanastomosis of aorta or after construction of a blind loop of small intestine having a transverse suture line and an end-to-side anastomosis. Dogs received intraoperative irradiation of both intact and anastomosed aorta or intestine in doses of 0, 2000, 3000, or 4500 rad. Animals were sacrificed at seven days or three months following treatment. At 24 hours prior to sacrifice, dogs received 5 mCi tritiated thymidine intravenously. Irradiated and non-irradiated segments of aorta and small intestine, including intact and anastomotic regions, were analyzed for tritiated thymidine incorporation and were subjected to autoradiography. Incorporation studies showed diminution in tritiated thymidine uptake by irradiated portions of aorta and small intestine, in both intact and anastomotic regions. Autoradiograms revealed that irradiated areas of intact or anastomotic aorta or intestine had diminished labeling of stromal cells, suggesting a lowered cell proliferative capacity of irradiated tissue compared to non-irradiated portions. Inflammatory cells showed similar labeling indices in irradiated and non-irradiated tissues, both intact and surgically-manipulated, suggesting that irradiation does not significantly affect a subsequent local inflammatory response. Radiation-induced decreases in tritiated thymidine incoporation in irradiated aorta and small intestine were generally more marked at seven days than at three months following irradiation, suggesting that radiation-induced depression of cell turnover rates decreases with time

  20. The Fate of Dissolved Creosote Compounds in an Intact Fratured Clay Column

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Broholm, Kim; Arvin, Erik; Hansen, Asger

    1995-01-01

    The fate of 16 different organics typical for creosote was studied under aerobic conditions in a large intact fractured clay column experiment. Some of the organics (benzene, toluene, o-xylene, phenol, and o-cresol) were transported at the same rate as bromide through the fractured clay, whereas ...

  1. Tolerance of a standard intact protein formula versus a partially hydrolyzed formula in healthy, term infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marunycz John D

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Parents who perceive common infant behaviors as formula intolerance-related often switch formulas without consulting a health professional. Up to one-half of formula-fed infants experience a formula change during the first six months of life. Methods The objective of this study was to assess discontinuance due to study physician-assessed formula intolerance in healthy, term infants. Infants (335 were randomized to receive either a standard intact cow milk protein formula (INTACT or a partially hydrolyzed cow milk protein formula (PH in a 60 day non-inferiority trial. Discontinuance due to study physician-assessed formula intolerance was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included number of infants who discontinued for any reason, including parent-assessed. Results Formula intolerance between groups (INTACT, 12.3% vs. PH, 13.7% was similar for infants who completed the study or discontinued due to study physician-assessed formula intolerance. Overall study discontinuance based on parent- vs. study physician-assessed intolerance for all infants (14.4 vs.11.1% was significantly different (P = 0.001. Conclusion This study demonstrated no difference in infant tolerance of intact vs. partially hydrolyzed cow milk protein formulas for healthy, term infants over a 60-day feeding trial, suggesting nonstandard partially hydrolyzed formulas are not necessary as a first-choice for healthy infants. Parents frequently perceived infant behavior as formula intolerance, paralleling previous reports of unnecessary formula changes. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov: NCT00666120

  2. Clonal expansion of genome-intact HIV-1 in functionally polarized Th1 CD4+ T cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Guinevere Q; Orlova-Fink, Nina; Einkauf, Kevin; Chowdhury, Fatema Z; Sun, Xiaoming; Harrington, Sean; Kuo, Hsiao-Hsuan; Hua, Stephane; Chen, Hsiao-Rong; Ouyang, Zhengyu; Reddy, Kavidha; Dong, Krista; Ndung'u, Thumbi; Walker, Bruce D; Rosenberg, Eric S; Yu, Xu G; Lichterfeld, Mathias

    2017-06-30

    HIV-1 causes a chronic, incurable disease due to its persistence in CD4+ T cells that contain replication-competent provirus, but exhibit little or no active viral gene expression and effectively resist combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). These latently infected T cells represent an extremely small proportion of all circulating CD4+ T cells but possess a remarkable long-term stability and typically persist throughout life, for reasons that are not fully understood. Here we performed massive single-genome, near-full-length next-generation sequencing of HIV-1 DNA derived from unfractionated peripheral blood mononuclear cells, ex vivo-isolated CD4+ T cells, and subsets of functionally polarized memory CD4+ T cells. This approach identified multiple sets of independent, near-full-length proviral sequences from cART-treated individuals that were completely identical, consistent with clonal expansion of CD4+ T cells harboring intact HIV-1. Intact, near-full-genome HIV-1 DNA sequences that were derived from such clonally expanded CD4+ T cells constituted 62% of all analyzed genome-intact sequences in memory CD4 T cells, were preferentially observed in Th1-polarized cells, were longitudinally detected over a duration of up to 5 years, and were fully replication- and infection-competent. Together, these data suggest that clonal proliferation of Th1-polarized CD4+ T cells encoding for intact HIV-1 represents a driving force for stabilizing the pool of latently infected CD4+ T cells.

  3. Uptake and clearance of plutonium-238 from intact liver and liver cells transplanted into fat pads of F344/N rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brooks, A.L.; Guilmette, R.A.; Hahn, F.F.; Jirtle, R.L.

    1985-01-01

    An understanding of the role of liver cells and the intact liver in plutonium biokinetics is needed. Liver cells were isolated from rats, injected into fat pads of recipient rats, and allowed 21 days to form cell colonies. Rats then received a single intraperitoneal injection of 1 μCi 238 Pu-citrate and were serially sacrificed. Uptake, retention, and distribution of Pu in intact liver and in liver cells growing in fat pads were determined. Intact liver cells took up about twice as much 238 Pu as liver cells transplanted into fat pads. However, the retention kinetics of Pu were similar for both the liver cells in the fat pads and the intact liver cells when the retention was expressed as activity per cell. 4 references, 1 figure, 1 table

  4. Radionuclide sorption on crushed and intact granitic rock

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eriksen, Tryggve E.; Locklund, Birgitta

    1989-05-01

    The specific surface areas and distribution ratios for sorption of 85 Sr, 137 Cs and 152 Eu were measured for crushed and intact granite rock. The experimental data can be accommodated by a sorption model encompassing sorption on outer and inner surface. It is clearly demonstrated that the time required to obtain reliable Kd-values for the sorption of strongly sorbing radionuclides like 152 Eu is very long due to solution depletion and slow diffusion into the rock. A combination of surface area measurements and batch sorption with small particles may therefore be preferable when studying strongly sorbing nuclides. (authors) (17 figs., 6 tabs.)

  5. Sediment carbon and nutrient fluxes from cleared and intact temperate mangrove ecosystems and adjacent sandflats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulmer, Richard H; Schwendenmann, Luitgard; Lohrer, Andrew M; Lundquist, Carolyn J

    2017-12-01

    The loss of mangrove ecosystems is associated with numerous impacts on coastal and estuarine function, including sediment carbon and nutrient cycling. In this study we compared in situ fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the sediment to the atmosphere, and fluxes of dissolved inorganic nutrients and oxygen across the sediment-water interface, in intact and cleared mangrove and sandflat ecosystems in a temperate estuary. Measurements were made 20 and 25months after mangrove clearance, in summer and winter, respectively. Sediment CO 2 efflux was over two-fold higher from cleared than intact mangrove ecosystems at 20 and 25months after mangrove clearance. The higher CO 2 efflux from the cleared site was explained by an increase in respiration of dead root material along with sediment disturbance following mangrove clearance. In contrast, sediment CO 2 efflux from the sandflat site was negligible (≤9.13±1.18mmolm -2 d -1 ), associated with lower sediment organic matter content. The fluxes of inorganic nutrients (NH 4 + , NO x and PO 4 3- ) from intact and cleared mangrove sediments were low (≤20.37±18.66μmolm -2 h - 1 ). The highest NH 4 + fluxes were measured at the sandflat site (69.21±13.49μmolm -2 h - 1 ). Lower inorganic nutrient fluxes within the cleared and intact mangrove sites compared to the sandflat site were associated with lower abundance of larger burrowing macrofauna. Further, a higher fraction of organic matter, silt and clay content in mangrove sediments may have limited nutrient exchange. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Collagen fibril size and crimp morphology in ruptured and intact Achilles tendons

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Magnusson, S P; Qvortrup, K; Larsen, Jytte Overgaard

    2002-01-01

    tendons. Crimp angle did not display any region-specific differences, or any difference between the rupture and intact tendons. In conclusion, these data suggest that although crimp morphology is unchanged there appears to be a site-specific loss of larger fibrils in the core and periphery of the Achilles...

  7. 46 CFR 173.020 - Intact stability standards: Counterballasted and non-counterballasted vessels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ...) SUBDIVISION AND STABILITY SPECIAL RULES PERTAINING TO VESSEL USE Lifting § 173.020 Intact stability standards... vessel that is not equipped to counter-ballast while lifting must be shown by design calculations to... and crane radius. (b) Each vessel must have a righting arm curve with the following characteristics...

  8. Forest loss in protected areas and intact forest landscapes : A global analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heino, Matias; Kummu, Matti; Makkonen, Marika; Mulligan, Mark; Verburg, Peter H.; Jalava, Mika; Räsänen, Timo A.

    2015-01-01

    In spite of the high importance of forests, global forest loss has remained alarmingly high during the last decades. Forest loss at a global scale has been unveiled with increasingly finer spatial resolution, but the forest extent and loss in protected areas (PAs) and in large intact forest

  9. Connexins and M3 Muscarinic Receptors Contribute to Heterogeneous Ca2+ Signaling in Mouse Aortic Endothelium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    François-Xavier Boittin

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aims: Smooth muscle tone is controlled by Ca2+ signaling in the endothelial layer. Mouse endothelial cells are interconnected by gap junctions made of Connexin40 (Cx40 and Cx37, which allow the exchange of signaling molecules to coordinate their activity. Here, we investigated the role of Cx40 in the endothelial Ca2+ signaling of the mouse aorta. Methods: Ca2+ imaging was performed on intact aortic endothelium from both wild type (Cx40+/+ and Connexin40-deficient (Cx40 -/- mice. Results: Acetylcholine (ACh induced early fast and high amplitude Ca2+ transients in a fraction of endothelial cells expressing the M3 muscarinic receptors. Inhibition of intercellular communication using carbenoxolone or octanol fully blocked the propagation of ACh-induced Ca2+ transients toward adjacent cells in WT and Cx40-/- mice. As compared to WT, Cx40-/- mice displayed a reduced propagation of ACh-induced Ca2+ waves, indicating that Cx40 contributes to the spreading of Ca2+ signals. The propagation of those Ca2+ responses was not blocked by suramin, a blocker of purinergic ATP receptors, indicating that there is no paracrine effect of ATP release on the Ca2+ waves. Conclusions: Altogether our data show that Cx40 and Cx37 contribute to the propagation and amplification of the Ca2+ signaling triggered by ACh in endothelial cells expressing the M3 muscarinic receptors.

  10. Cutaneous mast cell maturation does not depend on an intact bone marrow microenvironment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charley, M.R.; Mikhael, A.; Sontheimer, R.D.; Gilliam, J.N.; Bennett, M.

    1984-01-01

    A study was made to determine whether the maturation of murine cutaneous mast cells from stem cells depends on an intact bone marrow microenvironment. Normal bone marrow cells (+/+) were infused into 2 groups of mast cell-deficient mice: WBB6F1-W/Wv mice and 89 Sr-pretreated W/Wv mice. 89 Sr is a long-lived bone-seeking radioisotope which provides continuous irradiation of the marrow and thereby ablates the marrow microenvironment. Skin biopsies revealed that the 89 Sr-pretreated mice and the controls had repopulated their skin with mast cells equally well. Natural killer cell function was significantly depressed in the 89 Sr-treated mice, confirming that the marrow microenvironment had been functionally altered. It appears that, although the precursors for cutaneous mast cells are marrow derived, they do not need an intact marrow microenvironment for maturation

  11. μCT of ex-vivo stained mouse hearts and embryos enables a precise match between 3D virtual histology, classical histology and immunochemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsson, Emanuel; Martin, Sabine; Lazzarini, Marcio; Tromba, Giuliana; Missbach-Guentner, Jeannine; Pinkert-Leetsch, Diana; Katschinski, Dörthe M.; Alves, Frauke

    2017-01-01

    The small size of the adult and developing mouse heart poses a great challenge for imaging in preclinical research. The aim of the study was to establish a phosphotungstic acid (PTA) ex-vivo staining approach that efficiently enhances the x-ray attenuation of soft-tissue to allow high resolution 3D visualization of mouse hearts by synchrotron radiation based μCT (SRμCT) and classical μCT. We demonstrate that SRμCT of PTA stained mouse hearts ex-vivo allows imaging of the cardiac atrium, ventricles, myocardium especially its fibre structure and vessel walls in great detail and furthermore enables the depiction of growth and anatomical changes during distinct developmental stages of hearts in mouse embryos. Our x-ray based virtual histology approach is not limited to SRμCT as it does not require monochromatic and/or coherent x-ray sources and even more importantly can be combined with conventional histological procedures. Furthermore, it permits volumetric measurements as we show for the assessment of the plaque volumes in the aortic valve region of mice from an ApoE-/- mouse model. Subsequent, Masson-Goldner trichrome staining of paraffin sections of PTA stained samples revealed intact collagen and muscle fibres and positive staining of CD31 on endothelial cells by immunohistochemistry illustrates that our approach does not prevent immunochemistry analysis. The feasibility to scan hearts already embedded in paraffin ensured a 100% correlation between virtual cut sections of the CT data sets and histological heart sections of the same sample and may allow in future guiding the cutting process to specific regions of interest. In summary, since our CT based virtual histology approach is a powerful tool for the 3D depiction of morphological alterations in hearts and embryos in high resolution and can be combined with classical histological analysis it may be used in preclinical research to unravel structural alterations of various heart diseases. PMID:28178293

  12. Palladium nanoparticles exposure: Evaluation of permeation through damaged and intact human skin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larese Filon, Francesca; Crosera, Matteo; Mauro, Marcella; Baracchini, Elena; Bovenzi, Massimo; Montini, Tiziano; Fornasiero, Paolo; Adami, Gianpiero

    2016-07-01

    The intensified use of palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) in many chemical reactions, jewellery, electronic devices, in car catalytic converters and in biomedical applications lead to a significant increase in palladium exposure. Pd can cause allergic contact dermatitis when in contact with the skin. However, there is still a lack of toxicological data related to nano-structured palladium and information on human cutaneous absorption. In fact, PdNPs, can be absorbed through the skin in higher amounts than bulk Pd because NPs can release more ions. In our study, we evaluated the absorption of PdNPs, with a size of 10.7 ± 2.8 nm, using intact and damaged human skin in Franz cells. 0.60 mg cm(-2) of PdNPs were applied on skin surface for 24 h. Pd concentrations in the receiving solutions at the end of experiments were 0.098 ± 0.067 μg cm(-2) and 1.06 ± 0.44 μg cm(-2) in intact skin and damaged skin, respectively. Pd flux permeation after 24 h was 0.005 ± 0.003 μg cm(-2) h(-1) and 0.057 ± 0.030 μg cm(-2) h(-1) and lag time 4.8 ± 1.7 and 4.2 ± 3.6 h, for intact and damaged skin respectively. This study indicates that Pd can penetrate human skin. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Comparing the mechanical influence of vinculin, focal adhesion kinase and p53 in mouse embryonic fibroblasts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klemm, Anna H.; Diez, Gerold; Alonso, Jose-Luis; Goldmann, Wolfgang H.

    2009-01-01

    Cytoskeletal reorganization is an ongoing process when cells adhere, move or invade extracellular substrates. The cellular force generation and transmission are determined by the intactness of the actomyosin-(focal adhesion complex)-integrin connection. We investigated the intracellular course of action in mouse embryonic fibroblasts deficient in the focal adhesion proteins vinculin and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and the nuclear matrix protein p53 using magnetic tweezer and nanoparticle tracking techniques. Results show that the lack of these proteins decrease cellular stiffness and affect cell rheological behavior. The decrease in cellular binding strength was higher in FAK- to vinculin-deficient cells, whilst p53-deficient cells showed no effect compared to wildtype cells. The intracellular cytoskeletal activity was lowest in wildtype cells, but increased in the following order when cells lacked FAK+p53 > p53 > vinculin. In summary, cell mechanical processes are differently affected by the focal adhesion proteins vinculin and FAK than by the nuclear matrix protein, p53.

  14. Isotope inequilibrium of glucose metabolites in intact cells and particlefree supernatants of Ehrlich ascites tumor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daehnfeldt, J.L.; Winge, P.

    1975-01-01

    With an enzyme degradative technique, isotope inequilibrium of glucose metabolites was demonstrated in intact cells and particle-free supernatants of Ehrlich ascites tumor using I- 14 C-glucose as tracer. Inequilibrium was found between glucose and glucose-6-phosphate, glucose and fructose-6-phosphate, glucose and 6-phosphogluconate, while glucose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate were found to be in near equilibrium within the incubation time investigated. Glucose and lactate were found to be in near equilibrium after 8 min in intact cells. Calculations based on the equilibrium levels found, showed that these inequilibria could not be explained by the effects of the pentose cycle. (U.S.)

  15. Boron-11 MRI and MRS of intact animals infused with a boron neutron capture agent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kabalka, G.W.; Davis, M.; Bendel, P.

    1988-01-01

    Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) depends on the delivery of boron-containing drugs to a targeted lesion. Currently, the verification and quantification of in vivo boron content is a difficult problem. Boron-11 spectroscopy was utilized to confirm the presence of a dimeric sulfhydryl dodecaborane BNCT agent contained in an intact animal. Spectroscopy experiments revealed that the decay time of transverse magnetization of the boron-11 spins was less than 1 ms which precluded the use of a 2DFT imaging protocol. A back-projection protocol was developed and utilized to generate the first boron-11 image of a BNCT agent in the liver of an intact Fisher 344 rat

  16. Mouse SNP Miner: an annotated database of mouse functional single nucleotide polymorphisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramensky Vasily E

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The mapping of quantitative trait loci in rat and mouse has been extremely successful in identifying chromosomal regions associated with human disease-related phenotypes. However, identifying the specific phenotype-causing DNA sequence variations within a quantitative trait locus has been much more difficult. The recent availability of genomic sequence from several mouse inbred strains (including C57BL/6J, 129X1/SvJ, 129S1/SvImJ, A/J, and DBA/2J has made it possible to catalog DNA sequence differences within a quantitative trait locus derived from crosses between these strains. However, even for well-defined quantitative trait loci ( Description To help identify functional DNA sequence variations within quantitative trait loci we have used the Ensembl annotated genome sequence to compile a database of mouse single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs that are predicted to cause missense, nonsense, frameshift, or splice site mutations (available at http://bioinfo.embl.it/SnpApplet/. For missense mutations we have used the PolyPhen and PANTHER algorithms to predict whether amino acid changes are likely to disrupt protein function. Conclusion We have developed a database of mouse SNPs predicted to cause missense, nonsense, frameshift, and splice-site mutations. Our analysis revealed that 20% and 14% of missense SNPs are likely to be deleterious according to PolyPhen and PANTHER, respectively, and 6% are considered deleterious by both algorithms. The database also provides gene expression and functional annotations from the Symatlas, Gene Ontology, and OMIM databases to further assess candidate phenotype-causing mutations. To demonstrate its utility, we show that Mouse SNP Miner successfully finds a previously identified candidate SNP in the taste receptor, Tas1r3, that underlies sucrose preference in the C57BL/6J strain. We also use Mouse SNP Miner to derive a list of candidate phenotype-causing mutations within a previously

  17. Anatomy, histochemistry and immunohistochemistry of the olfactory subsystems in mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arthur William Barrios

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The four regions of the murine nasal cavity featuring olfactory neurons were studied anatomically and by labelling with lectins and relevant antibodies with a view to establishing criteria for the identification of olfactory subsystems that are readily applicable to other mammals. In the main olfactory epithelium and the septal organ the olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs are embedded in quasi-stratified columnar epithelium; vomeronasal OSNs are embedded in epithelium lining the medial interior wall of the vomeronasal duct and do not make contact with the mucosa of the main nasal cavity; and in Grüneberg’s ganglion a small isolated population of OSNs lies adjacent to, but not within, the epithelium. With the exception of Grüneberg’s ganglion, all the tissues expressing olfactory marker protein (OMP (the above four nasal territories, the vomeronasal and main olfactory nerves, and the main and accessory olfactory bulbs are also labelled by Lycopersicum esculentum agglutinin, while Ulex europaeus agglutinin I labels all and only tissues expressing Gi2 (the apical sensory neurons of the vomeronasal organ, their axons, and their glomerular destinations in the anterior accessory olfactory bulb. These staining patterns of UEA-I and LEA may facilitate the characterization of olfactory anatomy in other species. A 710-section atlas of the anatomy of the murine nasal cavity has been made available on line.

  18. The action of cobra venom phospholipase A2 isoenzymes towards intact human erythrocytes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roelofsen, B.; Sibenius Trip, M.; Verheij, H.M.; Zevenbergen, J.L.

    1980-01-01

    1. 1. Cobra venom phospholipase A2 from three different sources has been fractionated into different isoenzymes by DEAE ion-exchange chromatography. 2. 2. Treatment of intact human erythrocytes with the various isoenzymes revealed significant differences in the degree of phosphatidylcholine

  19. Steroid metabolism in the mouse placenta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okker-Reitsma, G.H.

    1976-01-01

    The purpose of the study described in this thesis was to investigate the capacity for steroid synthesis of the mouse placenta - especially the production of progesterone, androgens and estrogens - and to determine, if possible, the relation of steroid synthesis to special cell types. In an introductory chapter the androgen production in the mouse placenta is surveyed by means of a histochemical and bioindicator study of different stages of development of the placenta. The metabolism of [ 3 H]-dehydroepiandrosterone and [ 3 H]-progesterone by mouse placental tissue in vitro is studied. The metabolism of [ 3 H]-progesterone by the mouse fetal adrenal in vitro is also studied

  20. Optimized Planning Target Volume for Intact Cervical Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, Alvin; Jensen, Lindsay G.; Sun Shuai; Song, William Y.; Yashar, Catheryn M.; Mundt, Arno J.; Zhang Fuquan; Jiang, Steve B.; Mell, Loren K.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To model interfraction clinical target volume (CTV) variation in patients with intact cervical cancer and design a planning target volume (PTV) that minimizes normal tissue dose while maximizing CTV coverage. Methods and Materials: We analyzed 50 patients undergoing external-beam radiotherapy for intact cervical cancer using daily online cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). The CBCTs (n = 972) for each patient were rigidly registered to the planning CT. The CTV was delineated on the planning CT (CTV 0 ) and the set of CBCTs ({CTV 1 –CTV 25 }). Manual (n = 98) and automated (n = 668) landmarks were placed over the surface of CTV 0 with reference to defined anatomic structures. Normal vectors were extended from each landmark, and the minimum length required for a given probability of encompassing CTV 1 –CTV 25 was computed. The resulting expansions were used to generate an optimized PTV. Results: The mean (SD; range) normal vector length to ensure 95% coverage was 4.3 mm (2.7 mm; 1–16 mm). The uniform expansion required to ensure 95% probability of CTV coverage was 13 mm. An anisotropic margin of 20 mm anteriorly and posteriorly and 10 mm superiorly, inferiorly, and laterally also would have ensured a 95% probability of CTV coverage. The volume of the 95% optimized PTV (1470 cm 3 ) was significantly lower than both the anisotropic PTV (2220 cm 3 ) and the uniformly expanded PTV (2110 cm 3 ) (p 0 , 5–10 mm along the interfaces of CTV 0 with the bladder and rectum, and 10–14 mm along the anterior surface of CTV 0 at the level of the uterus. Conclusion: Optimizing PTV definition according to surface landmarking resulted in a high probability of CTV coverage with reduced PTV volumes. Our results provide data justifying planning margins to use in practice and clinical trials.

  1. Family relationships and the psychosocial adjustment of school-aged children in intact families

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hakvoort, E.M.; Bos, H.M.W.; van Balen, F.; Hermanns, J.M.A.

    2010-01-01

    The authors investigated whether the quality of three family relationships (i.e., marital, parent-child, sibling) in intact families are associated with each other and with children's psychosocial adjustment. Data were collected by means of maternal and child reports (N = 88) using standardized

  2. Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI) Is the International Resource for Information on the Laboratory Mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, MeiYee; Shaw, David R

    2018-01-01

    Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI, http://www.informatics.jax.org/ ) web resources provide free access to meticulously curated information about the laboratory mouse. MGI's primary goal is to help researchers investigate the genetic foundations of human diseases by translating information from mouse phenotypes and disease models studies to human systems. MGI provides comprehensive phenotypes for over 50,000 mutant alleles in mice and provides experimental model descriptions for over 1500 human diseases. Curated data from scientific publications are integrated with those from high-throughput phenotyping and gene expression centers. Data are standardized using defined, hierarchical vocabularies such as the Mammalian Phenotype (MP) Ontology, Mouse Developmental Anatomy and the Gene Ontologies (GO). This chapter introduces you to Gene and Allele Detail pages and provides step-by-step instructions for simple searches and those that take advantage of the breadth of MGI data integration.

  3. Regulation of Polysaccharide- and Protein- Specific Antibody Responses to Intact Extracellular Bacteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-03-11

    OVA peptide (amino acids 323-339), presented by MHC-II I-Ad, were purchased from Taconic Farms (Hudson, NY). They were thereafter bred in our...overnight at 4°C and plates were then washed 3x with PBS + 0.1% Tween 20. Alkaline phosphatase-conjugated polyclonal goat anti-mouse IgG Abs 41 | P a g e...phosphatase-conjugated polyclonal goat anti-mouse IgG antibodies (200 ng/ml) in PBS + 1.0% BSA were then added, and plates were incubated at 37°C for

  4. Intrahippocampal administration of an androgen receptor antagonist, flutamide, can increase anxiety-like behavior in intact and DHT-replaced male rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edinger, Kassandra L; Frye, Cheryl A

    2006-08-01

    Testosterone (T) and its 5alpha-reduced metabolite, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), can decrease anxiety-like behavior; however, the mechanisms underlying these effects have not been established. First, we hypothesized that if T reduces anxiety-like behavior through actions of its 5alpha-reduced metabolite, DHT, then gonadectomy (GDX) would increase anxiety-like behavior, an effect which would be reversed by systemic administration of DHT. Second, we hypothesized that if T and DHT reduce anxiety-like behavior in part through actions at intracellular androgen receptors in the hippocampus, then administration of an androgen receptor antagonist, flutamide, directly to the hippocampus should increase anxiety-like behavior of intact and DHT-replaced, but not GDX, male rats. Inserts that were empty or contained flutamide were applied directly to the dorsal hippocampus of intact, GDX, or GDX and DHT-replaced rats 2 h prior to testing in the open field, elevated plus maze, or defensive freezing tasks. GDX rats exhibited significantly more anxiety-like behaviors than intact or DHT-replaced rats. Intact and DHT-replaced rats administered flutamide to the hippocampus showed significantly more anxiety-like behavior than did intact and DHT-replaced controls. However, flutamide alone did not increase anxiety-like behavior of GDX rats. Together, these findings suggest that androgens can decrease anxiety-like behavior of male rats in part through DHT's actions at androgen receptors in the hippocampus.

  5. Intact Four-atom Organic Tetracation Stabilized by Charge Localization in the Gas Phase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yatsuhashi, Tomoyuki; Toyota, Kazuo; Mitsubayashi, Naoya; Kozaki, Masatoshi; Okada, Keiji; Nakashima, Nobuaki

    2016-10-05

    Several features distinguish intact multiply charged molecular cations (MMCs) from other species such as monocations and polycations: high potential energy, high electron affinity, a high density of electronic states with various spin multiplicities, and charge-dependent reactions. However, repulsive Coulombic interactions make MMCs quite unstable, and hence small organic MMCs are currently not readily available. Herein, we report that the isolated four-atom molecule diiodoacetylene survives after the removal of four electrons via tunneling. We show that the tetracation remains metastable towards dissociation because of the localization (91-95 %) of the positive charges on the terminal iodine atoms, ensuring minimum Coulomb repulsion between adjacent atoms as well as maximum charge-induced attractive dipole interactions between iodine and carbon. Our approach making use of iodines as the positively charged sites enables small organic MMCs to remain intact. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Does intact pleura during internal mammary artery harvesting decreases pleuropulmonary complications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paracha, V.I.; Iqbal, M.A.; Rashid, A.

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the effects on postoperative pulmonary function of pleural integrity versus opened pleura, in patients who receive a left internal mammary artery graft. Study Design: Randomized control trial. Place and Duration of study: Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology and National Institute of Heart Diseases, Rawalpindi from June 2009 to Feb 2010. Patients and Methods: The study was conducted on 62 patients who underwent elective coronary artery bypass grafting. The patients were divided into 2 groups: Group A consisted of patients who underwent internal mammary artery harvesting with opened pleura (n=31) while Group B consisted of patients having internal mammary artery harvested with intact pleura (n=31). To monitor pleuro-pulmonary complications, chest radiography was performed routinely 1 day before operation and on the second, fourth and sixth postoperative days. The preoperative, after extubation, and first postoperative day values of partial oxygen pressure (PaO/sub 2/), partial carbon dioxide pressure (PaCO/sub 2/), oxygen (O/sub 2/) saturation and haematocrit were recorded for comparison. The effect of intact pleura on IMA traction was also recorded by serial cardiac enzymes measurement and electrocardiography in the immediate postoperative period. Results: Pleural effusion occurred more often in patients of Group A (35.5% versus 12.9%) which was statistically significant (P 0.038). However, no significant differences were recorded in postoperative respiratory complications. Reoperation for postoperative bleeding and tamponade was done in 6.5% and 3.2% of cases in Group B respectively but none Group A; however it was not statistically significant (P 0.076). The mean postoperative hospital stay was 7.84 days for Group A and 7.58 days for Group B. Conclusion: Pleural integrity during IMA harvesting decreases pleural effusion. Although, no significant differences were recorded in postoperative lung complications, intact pleural technique of IMA

  7. MouseMine: a new data warehouse for MGI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motenko, H; Neuhauser, S B; O'Keefe, M; Richardson, J E

    2015-08-01

    MouseMine (www.mousemine.org) is a new data warehouse for accessing mouse data from Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI). Based on the InterMine software framework, MouseMine supports powerful query, reporting, and analysis capabilities, the ability to save and combine results from different queries, easy integration into larger workflows, and a comprehensive Web Services layer. Through MouseMine, users can access a significant portion of MGI data in new and useful ways. Importantly, MouseMine is also a member of a growing community of online data resources based on InterMine, including those established by other model organism databases. Adopting common interfaces and collaborating on data representation standards are critical to fostering cross-species data analysis. This paper presents a general introduction to MouseMine, presents examples of its use, and discusses the potential for further integration into the MGI interface.

  8. Comparison of the carcinogenic effectiveness in mouse skin of methyl- and ethylnitrosourea, nitrosourethane and nitrosonitro-guanidine and the effect of deuterium labeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lijinsky, W.

    1982-01-01

    The carcinogenic activities of a number of directly acting methylating and ethylating agents have been compared by mouse skin painting in acetone solution. Nitrosomethylurethane and nitrosoethylurethane failed to induce tumors after greater than 60 weeks treatment. Nitrosomethylurea was somewhat more effective than nitrosoethylurea, as measured by the longer latent period than nitrosoethylurea, as measured Nitrosomethylnitroguanidine, by the same measure, was a weaker carcinogen than nitrosoethylnitroguanidine at both dose levels used (0.02 M and 0.008 M); the latter compound was the most potent skin carcinogen of those examined. There was no significant difference in carcinogenic effectiveness when the alkyl group of the nitrosoureas or the nitronitrosoguanidines contained deuterium instead of hydrogen, which supports the concept that alkylation of cellular macromolecules by the intact alkyl group is responsible for carcinogenesis by these compounds

  9. Lack of the serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase SGK1 improves muscle force characteristics and attenuates fibrosis in dystrophic mdx mouse muscle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Steinberger, Martin; Föller, Michael; Vogelgesang, Silke

    2015-01-01

    Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a human genetic disease characterized by fibrosis and severe muscle weakness. Currently, there is no effective treatment available to prevent progressive fibrosis in skeletal muscles. The serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase SGK1 regulates a variety...... of physiological functions and participates in fibrosis stimulation. Here, we investigated whether SGK1 influences structure, function and/or fibrosis of the muscles from the mdx mouse, an animal model for DMD. As expected, mdx muscles showed the typical pathological features of muscular dystrophy including fiber...... size variations, central nuclei of muscle fibers, fibrosis in the diaphragm, and force reduction by 30–50 %. Muscles from sgk1 -/- mice were histologically overall intact and specific force was only slightly reduced compared to wild-type muscles. Surprisingly, soleus and diaphragm muscles of mdx/sgk1...

  10. Selective enhancement of main olfactory input to the medial amygdala by GnRH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blake, Camille Bond; Meredith, Michael

    2010-03-04

    In male hamsters mating behavior is dependent on chemosensory input from the main olfactory and vomeronasal systems, whose central pathways contain cell bodies and fibers of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons. In sexually naive males, vomeronasal organ removal (VNX), but not main olfactory lesions, impairs mating behavior. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.)-GnRH restores mating in sexually naive VNX males and enhances medial amygdala (Me) immediate-early gene activation by chemosensory stimulation. In sexually experienced males, VNX does not impair mating and i.c.v.-GnRH suppresses Me activation. Thus, the main olfactory system is sufficient for mating in experienced-VNX males, but not in naive-VNX males. We investigated the possibility that GnRH enhances main olfactory input to the amygdala in naive-VNX males using i.c.v.-GnRH and pharmacological stimulation (bicuculline/D,L-homocysteic acid mixture) of the main olfactory bulb (MOB). In sexually naive intact males there was a robust increase of Fos protein expression in the anteroventral medial amygdala (MeAv) with MOB stimulation, but no effect of GnRH. There was no effect of stimulation or GnRH in posterodorsal medial amygdala (MePd). In naive-VNX animals, GnRH increased Fos in MeAv and MePv. Only combined MOB stimulation and i.c.v.-GnRH produced a significant increase in Fos in the dorsal (reproduction-related) portion of MeP (MePd). When the animals were sexually experienced before VNX, a condition in which GnRH does not enhance mating, i.c.v.-GnRH combined with MOB stimulation suppressed Fos expression in MePd. This suggests a more selective effect of GnRH on olfactory input in MePd than elsewhere in medial amygdala of VNX males. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Predictors of Attachment Security in Preschool Children from Intact and Divorced Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, Hira; Murray, Ann D.

    2005-01-01

    The authors selected 58 mother-child dyads from divorced and intact families to participate in a study on the impact of divorce on preschoolers' attachment security. The authors explored pathways that lead to security of attachment. They found that mothers from divorced families were younger, had lower income levels, and had lower levels of…

  12. Detection of intact megadalton protein assemblies of vanillyl-alcohol oxidase by mass spectrometry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berkel, van W.J.H.; Heuvel, van den R.H.H.; Versluis, C.; Heck, A.

    2000-01-01

    Well-resolved ion signals of intact large protein assemblies, with molecular masses extending above one million Dalton, have been detected and mass analyzed using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, with an uncertainty in mass of <0.2&Eth;The mass spectral data seem to reflect known

  13. Aquaporin-11 (AQP11 Expression in the Mouse Brain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shin Koike

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Aquaporin-11 (AQP11 is an intracellular aquaporin expressed in various tissues, including brain tissues in mammals. While AQP11-deficient mice have developed fatal polycystic kidneys at one month old, the role of AQP11 in the brain was not well appreciated. In this study, we examined the AQP11 expression in the mouse brain and the brain phenotype of AQP11-deficient mice. AQP11 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA and protein were expressed in the brain, but much less than in the thymus and kidney. Immunostaining showed that AQP11 was localized at the epithelium of the choroid plexus and at the endothelium of the brain capillary, suggesting that AQP11 may be involved in water transport at the choroid plexus and blood-brain barrier (BBB in the brain. The expression of AQP4, another brain AQP expressed at the BBB, was decreased by half in AQP11-deficient mice, thereby suggesting the presence of the interaction between AQP11 and AQP4. The brain of AQP11-deficient mice, however, did not show any morphological abnormalities and the function of the BBB was intact. Our findings provide a novel insight into a water transport mechanism mediated by AQPs in the brain, which may lead to a new therapy for brain edema.

  14. A new infusion pathway intactness monitoring system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogawa, Hidekuni; Yonezawa, Yoshiharu; Maki, Hiromichi; Ninomiya, Ishio; Sata, Koji; Hamada, Shingo; Caldwell, W Morton

    2006-01-01

    A new infusion pathway monitoring system has been developed for hospital and home use. The system consists of linear integrated circuits and a low-power 8-bit single chip microcomputer which constantly monitors the infusion pathway intactness. An AC (alternating current) voltage is induced on the patient's body by electrostatic coupling from the normal 100 volt, 60 Hz AC power line wiring field in the patient's room. The induced AC voltage can be recorded by a main electrode wrapped around the infusion polyvinyl chloride tube. A reference electrode is wrapped on the electrode to monitor the AC voltage around the main electrode. If the injection needle or infusion tube becomes detached, then the system detects changes in the induced AC voltages and alerts the nursing station, via the nurse call system or PHS (personal handy phone system).

  15. Subsequent influences of feeding intact green seaweed Ulva lactuca to growing lambs on the seminal and testicular characteristics in rams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samara, E M; Okab, A B; Abdoun, K A; El-Waziry, A M; Al-Haidary, A A

    2013-12-01

    The present experiment was designed to investigate the subsequent influences of supplementing different levels of intact green seaweed Ulva lactuca (0%, 3%, and 5% DM) to growing sexually immature lambs during the growth period (74 d) on the seminal and testicular characteristics of sexually mature rams. Ulva lactuca was manually collected, adequately prepared, and then incorporated into lambs' diets. Eighteen male 3-mo-old lambs of the Awassi breed with a mean BW of 22.57 kg (SD = 1.08) were randomly assigned into treatments. The obtained results indicate that offering Ulva lactuca at the level of 3% or 5% DM to lambs during the growth period had no subsequent impacts (P > 0.05) on liver and kidney functions as well as blood water balance in rams, thereby suggesting that Ulva lactuca can be safely supplemented to lambs during growing. However, our findings point out that feeding a lamb diet supplemented with intact Ulva lactuca failed to demonstrate any subsequent benefit (P > 0.05) on the growth performance, thermoregulatory responses, and plasma oxidative status in rams. Above all, it was clearly evident that supplementing intact Ulva lactuca to lambs had demonstrated subsequent negative influences (P Ulva lactuca during the growth period compared to control rams. The deleterious impacts of feeding intact Ulva lactuca on spermatogenesis and germ cell loss were proven to be attributed to the dysfunction of Sertoli cells. Collectively, these results provide novel insights on the subsequent influences of dietary supplementation of intact Ulva lactuca to lambs. The consistent evidence of profound negative impacts on seminal and testicular characteristics as well as the resulting data of no improvement of subsequent growth, thermoregulation, and plasma oxidative status in rams prompts us to tentatively recommend the avoidance of feeding intact Ulva lactuca to lambs.

  16. Differential isotope dansylation labeling combined with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry for quantification of intact and N-terminal truncated proteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, Yanan; Li, Liang

    2013-01-01

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •LC–MS was developed for quantifying protein mixtures containing both intact and N-terminal truncated proteins. • 12 C 2 -Dansylation of the N-terminal amino acid of proteins was done first, followed by microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis. •The released 12 C 2 -dansyl labeled N-terminal amino acid was quantified using 13 C 2 -dansyl labeled amino acid standards. •The method provided accurate and precise results for quantifying intact and N-terminal truncated proteins within 8 h. -- Abstract: The N-terminal amino acids of proteins are important structure units for maintaining the biological function, localization, and interaction networks of proteins. Under different biological conditions, one or several N-terminal amino acids could be cleaved from an intact protein due to processes, such as proteolysis, resulting in the change of protein properties. Thus, the ability to quantify the N-terminal truncated forms of proteins is of great importance, particularly in the area of development and production of protein-based drugs where the relative quantity of the intact protein and its truncated form needs to be monitored. In this work, we describe a rapid method for absolute quantification of protein mixtures containing intact and N-terminal truncated proteins. This method is based on dansylation labeling of the N-terminal amino acids of proteins, followed by microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis of the proteins into amino acids. It is shown that dansyl labeled amino acids are stable in acidic conditions and can be quantified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS) with the use of isotope analog standards

  17. Asymmetric Localization of Cdx2 mRNA during the First Cell-Fate Decision in Early Mouse Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Skamagki

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available A longstanding question in mammalian development is whether the divisions that segregate pluripotent progenitor cells for the future embryo from cells that differentiate into extraembryonic structures are asymmetric in cell-fate instructions. The transcription factor Cdx2 plays a key role in the first cell-fate decision. Here, using live-embryo imaging, we show that localization of Cdx2 transcripts becomes asymmetric during development, preceding cell lineage segregation. Cdx2 transcripts preferentially localize apically at the late eight-cell stage and become inherited asymmetrically during divisions that set apart pluripotent and differentiating cells. Asymmetric localization depends on a cis element within the coding region of Cdx2 and requires cell polarization as well as intact microtubule and actin cytoskeletons. Failure to enrich Cdx2 transcripts apically results in a significant decrease in the number of pluripotent cells. We discuss how the asymmetric localization and segregation of Cdx2 transcripts could contribute to multiple mechanisms that establish different cell fates in the mouse embryo.

  18. Aboveground biomass variability across intact and degraded forests in the Brazilian Amazon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcos Longo; Michael Keller; Maiza N. dos-Santos; Veronika Leitold; Ekena R. Pinagé; Alessandro Baccini; Sassan Saatchi; Euler M. Nogueira; Mateus Batistella; Douglas C. Morton

    2016-01-01

    Deforestation rates have declined in the Brazilian Amazon since 2005, yet degradation from logging, fire, and fragmentation has continued in frontier forests. In this study we quantified the aboveground carbon density (ACD) in intact and degraded forests using the largest data set of integrated forest inventory plots (n = 359) and airborne lidar data (18,000 ha)...

  19. 2-Methoxyestradiol Reduces Angiotensin II-Induced Hypertension and Renal Dysfunction in Ovariectomized Female and Intact Male Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pingili, Ajeeth K; Davidge, Karen N; Thirunavukkarasu, Shyamala; Khan, Nayaab S; Katsurada, Akemi; Majid, Dewan S A; Gonzalez, Frank J; Navar, L Gabriel; Malik, Kafait U

    2017-06-01

    Cytochrome P450 1B1 protects against angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertension and associated cardiovascular changes in female mice, most likely via production of 2-methoxyestradiol. This study was conducted to determine whether 2-methoxyestradiol ameliorates Ang II-induced hypertension, renal dysfunction, and end-organ damage in intact Cyp1b1 -/- , ovariectomized female, and Cyp1b1 +/+ male mice. Ang II or vehicle was infused for 2 weeks and administered concurrently with 2-methoxyestradiol. Mice were placed in metabolic cages on day 12 of Ang II infusion for urine collection for 24 hours. 2-Methoxyestradiol reduced Ang II-induced increases in systolic blood pressure, water consumption, urine output, and proteinuria in intact female Cyp1b1 -/- and ovariectomized mice. 2-Methoxyestradiol also reduced Ang II-induced increase in blood pressure, water intake, urine output, and proteinuria in Cyp1b1 +/+ male mice. Treatment with 2-methoxyestradiol attenuated Ang II-induced end-organ damage in intact Cyp1b1 -/- and ovariectomized Cyp1b1 +/+ and Cyp1b1 -/- female mice and Cyp1b1 +/+ male mice. 2-Methoxyestradiol mitigated Ang II-induced increase in urinary excretion of angiotensinogen in intact Cyp1b1 -/- and ovariectomized Cyp1b1 +/+ and Cyp1b1 -/- female mice but not in Cyp1b1 +/+ male mice. The G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 antagonist G-15 failed to alter Ang II-induced increases in blood pressure and renal function in Cyp1b1 +/+ female mice. These data suggest that 2-methoxyestradiol reduces Ang II-induced hypertension and associated end-organ damage in intact Cyp1b1 -/- , ovariectomized Cyp1b1 +/+ and Cyp1b1 -/- female mice, and Cyp1b1 +/+ male mice independent of G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1. Therefore, 2-methoxyestradiol could serve as a therapeutic agent for treating hypertension and associated pathogenesis in postmenopausal females, and in males. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  20. Single molecule approaches for quantifying transcription and degradation rates in intact mammalian tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahar Halpern, Keren; Itzkovitz, Shalev

    2016-04-01

    A key challenge in mammalian biology is to understand how rates of transcription and mRNA degradation jointly shape cellular gene expression. Powerful techniques have been developed for measuring these rates either genome-wide or at the single-molecule level, however these techniques are not applicable to assessment of cells within their native tissue microenvironment. Here we describe a technique based on single molecule Fluorescence in-situ Hybridization (smFISH) to measure transcription and degradation rates in intact mammalian tissues. The technique is based on dual-color libraries targeting the introns and exons of the genes of interest, enabling visualization and quantification of both nascent and mature mRNA. We present a software, TransQuant, that facilitates quantifying these rates from smFISH images. Our approach enables assessment of both transcription and degradation rates of any gene of interest while controlling for the inherent heterogeneity of intact tissues. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Proliferation of cultured mouse choroid plexus epithelial cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Basam Z Barkho

    Full Text Available The choroid plexus (ChP epithelium is a multifunctional tissue found in the ventricles of the brain. The major function of the ChP epithelium is to produce cerebrospinal fluid (CSF that bathes and nourishes the central nervous system (CNS. In addition to the CSF, ChP epithelial cells (CPECs produce and secrete numerous neurotrophic factors that support brain homeostasis, such as adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Accordingly, damage and dysfunction to CPECs are thought to accelerate and intensify multiple disease phenotypes, and CPEC regeneration would represent a potential therapeutic approach for these diseases. However, previous reports suggest that CPECs rarely divide, although this has not been extensively studied in response to extrinsic factors. Utilizing a cell-cycle reporter mouse line and live cell imaging, we identified scratch injury and the growth factors insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1 and epidermal growth factor (EGF as extrinsic cues that promote increased CPEC expansion in vitro. Furthermore, we found that IGF-1 and EGF treatment enhances scratch injury-induced proliferation. Finally, we established whole tissue explant cultures and observed that IGF-1 and EGF promote CPEC division within the intact ChP epithelium. We conclude that although CPECs normally have a slow turnover rate, they expand in response to external stimuli such as injury and/or growth factors, which provides a potential avenue for enhancing ChP function after brain injury or neurodegeneration.

  2. 9 CFR 113.33 - Mouse safety tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mouse safety tests. 113.33 Section 113.33 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... Procedures § 113.33 Mouse safety tests. One of the mouse safety tests provided in this section shall be...

  3. An optimized method for measuring hypocretin-1 peptide in the mouse brain reveals differential circadian regulation of hypocretin-1 levels rostral and caudal to the hypothalamus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Justinussen, J L; Holm, A; Kornum, B R

    2015-12-03

    The hypocretin/orexin system regulates, among other things, sleep and energy homeostasis. The system is likely regulated by both homeostatic and circadian mechanisms. Little is known about local differences in the regulation of hypocretin activity. The aim of this study was to establish an optimized peptide quantification method for hypocretin-1 extracted from different mouse brain areas and use this method for investigating circadian fluctuations of hypocretin-1 levels in these areas. The results show that hypocretin-1 peptide can be extracted from small pieces of intact tissue, with sufficient yield for measurements in a standard radioimmunoassay. Utilizing the optimized method, it was found that prepro-hypocretin mRNA and peptide show circadian fluctuations in the mouse brain. This study further demonstrates that the hypocretin-1 peptide level in the frontal brain peaks during dark as does prepro-hypocretin mRNA in the hypothalamus. However, in midbrain and brainstem tissue caudal to the hypothalamus, there was less circadian fluctuation and a tendency for higher levels during the light phase. These data suggest that regulation of the hypocretin system differs between brain areas. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Double Outlet Right Ventricle With Intact Ventricular Septum: Avulsion or Exclusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menon, Sabarinath; Kumar, C J Ashok; Mathew, Thomas; Venkateshwarn, S; Jayakumar, K; Dharan, Baiju S

    2016-03-01

    Double outlet right ventricle (DORV) is almost always associated with a ventricular septal defect. The variant of DORV with intact ventricular septum is very uncommon and may be associated with fetal demise or death immediately after birth. Reports of successful palliation of these patients to the stage of superior cavopulmonary anastomosis (bidirectional Glenn shunt) are rare. We describe the case of a child with DORV with intact ventricular septum who underwent successful palliation. This condition often provides a diagnostic, interventional, and surgical challenge. Patients generally require either balloon atrial septostomy or surgical atrial septectomy for survival, with the addition of a Blalock-Tausig shunt or pulmonary artery band depending on the pulmonary blood flow. Very few patients survive to a Glenn procedure. For those who do survive, a decision must be made regarding the management of the hypertensive and hypoplastic left ventricle (LV) and associated mitral regurgitation. The LV can be excluded by either mitral valve avulsion or closure (exclusion) of the mitral valve with a patch. The choice of the technique should be carefully made and depends in part on the size of the LV. In our patient, who was successfully palliated by bidirectional Glenn shunt, the LV was managed by means of mitral valve avulsion. © The Author(s) 2015.

  5. Assessment of characteristic failure envelopes for intact rock using results from triaxial tests

    OpenAIRE

    Muralha, J.; Lamas, L.

    2014-01-01

    The paper presents contributions to the statistical study of the parameters of the Mohr-Coulomb and Hoek-Brown strength criteria, in order to assess the characteristic failure envelopes for intact rock, based on the results of several sets of triaxial tests performed by LNEC. 10p DBB/NMMR

  6. Importance of an intact dura in management of compound elevated fractures; a short series and literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohindra, Sandeep; Singh, Harnarayan; Savardekar, Amey

    2012-01-01

    To describe compound elevated fractures (CEFs) of the skull vault, with radiological pictures, management problems and prognosticative factors. The authors describe three cases of CEFs of the cranium, their mode of injury, clinical findings, radiological images and management problems. The authors have reviewed the existing literature regarding epidemiological data, neurological status, dural breech, methods of management and final outcome, in respect of CEFs. The first case had no dural breech, the second case had completely shattered dura, with extruding brain matter from the wound, while the third case had an elevated bone flap in consequence to large extradural haematoma. The patients with intact dura had relatively favourable outcome, when compared to patients with shattered dura. Three cases are added to the existing 10 such cases described in English literature. The major cause of unfavourable outcome remains sepsis and the presence of intact dura places these cases in the relatively safe category, regarding infective complications. The authors attempt at highlighting the importance of intact dura with such an injury. The review of literature supports favourable outcomes in patients having no dural breech.

  7. Transport of indoleacetic acid in intact corn coleoptiles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, K.E.; Briggs, W.R.

    1990-01-01

    We have characterized the transport of [ 3 H]indoleacetic acid (IAA) in intact corn (Zea mays L.) coleoptiles. We have used a wide range of concentrations of added IAA (28 femtomoles to 100 picomoles taken up over 60 minutes). The shape of the transport curve varies with the concentration of added IAA, although the rate of movement of the observed front of tracer is invariant with concentration. At the lowest concentration of tracer used, the labeled IAA in the transport stream is not detectably metabolized or immobilized, curvature does not develop as a result of tracer application, and normal phototropic and gravitropic responsiveness are not affected. Therefore we believe we are observing the transport of true tracer quantities of labeled auxin at this lowest concentration

  8. Secretin Modulates the Postnatal Development of Mouse Cerebellar Cortex Via PKA- and ERK-dependent Pathways

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Wang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Postnatal development of the cerebellum is critical for its intact function such as motor coordination and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders. We previously reported that deprivation of secretin (SCT from cerebellar Purkinje neurons impaired motor coordination and motor learning function, while leaving the potential role of SCT in cerebellar development to be determined. SCT and its receptor (SCTR were constitutively expressed in the postnatal cerebellum in a temporal and cell-specific manner. Using a SCT knockout mouse model, we provided direct evidence showing altered developmental patterns of Purkinje cells (PCs and granular cells (GCs. SCT deprivation reduced the PC density, impaired the PC dendritic formation, induced accelerated GC migration and potentiated cerebellar apoptosis. Furthermore, our results indicated the involvement of protein kinase A (PKA and extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK signaling pathways in SCT-mediated protective effects against neuronal apoptosis. Results of this study illustrated a novel function of SCT in the postnatal development of cerebellum, emphasizing the necessary role of SCT in cerebellar-related functions.

  9. Gnaz couples the circadian and dopaminergic system to G protein-mediated signaling in mouse photoreceptors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Vancura

    Full Text Available The mammalian retina harbors a circadian clockwork that regulates vision and promotes healthiness of retinal neurons, mainly through directing the rhythmic release of the neurohormones dopamine-acting on dopamine D4 receptors-and melatonin-acting on MT1 and MT2 receptors. The gene Gnaz-a unique Gi/o subfamily member-was seen in the present study to be expressed in photoreceptors where its protein product Gαz shows a daily rhythm in its subcellular localization. Apart from subcellular localization, Gnaz displays a daily rhythm in expression-with peak values at night-in preparations of the whole retina, microdissected photoreceptors and photoreceptor-related pinealocytes. In retina, Gnaz rhythmicity was observed to persist under constant darkness and to be abolished in retina deficient for Clock or dopamine D4 receptors. Furthermore, circadian regulation of Gnaz was disturbed in the db/db mouse, a model of diabetic retinopathy. The data of the present study suggest that Gnaz links the circadian clockwork-via dopamine acting on D4 receptors-to G protein-mediated signaling in intact but not diabetic retina.

  10. Effects of reactive Mn(III)-oxalate complexes on structurally intact plant cell walls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Summering, J. A.; Keiluweit, M.; Goni, M. A.; Nico, P. S.; Kleber, M.

    2011-12-01

    Lignin components in the in plant litter are commonly assumed to have longer residence times in soil than many other compounds, which are supposedly, more easily degradable. The supposed resistance of lignin compounds to decomposition is generally attributed to the complex chain of biochemical steps required to create footholds in the non-porous structure of ligno-cellulose in cell walls. Interestingly, Mn(III) complexes have shown the ability to degrade ligno-cellulose. Mn(III) chelated by ligands such as oxalate are soluble oxidizers with a high affinity for lignin structures. Here we determined (i) the formation and decay kinetics of the Mn(III)-oxalate complexes in aqueous solution and (ii) the effects that these complexes have on intact ligno-cellulose. UV/vis spectroscopy and iodometric titrations confirmed the transient nature of Mn(III)-oxalate complexes with decay rates being in the order of hours. Zinnia elegans tracheary elements - a model ligno-cellulose substrate - were treated with Mn(III)-oxalate complexes in a newly developed flow-through reactor. Soluble decomposition products released during the treatment were analyzed by GC/MS and the degree of cell integrity was measured by cell counts, pre- and post-treatment counts indicate a decrease in intact Zinnia elegans as a result of Mn(III)-treatment. GC/MS results showed the release of a multitude of solubilized lignin breakdown products from plant cell walls. We conclude that Mn(III)-oxalate complexes have the ability to lyse intact plant cells and solubilize lignin. Lignin decomposition may thus be seen as resource dependent, with Mn(III) a powerful resource that should be abundant in terrestrial characterized by frequent redox fluctuations.

  11. Differential isotope dansylation labeling combined with liquid chromatography mass spectrometry for quantification of intact and N-terminal truncated proteins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, Yanan; Li, Liang, E-mail: Liang.Li@ualberta.ca

    2013-08-20

    Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •LC–MS was developed for quantifying protein mixtures containing both intact and N-terminal truncated proteins. •{sup 12}C{sub 2}-Dansylation of the N-terminal amino acid of proteins was done first, followed by microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis. •The released {sup 12}C{sub 2}-dansyl labeled N-terminal amino acid was quantified using {sup 13}C{sub 2}-dansyl labeled amino acid standards. •The method provided accurate and precise results for quantifying intact and N-terminal truncated proteins within 8 h. -- Abstract: The N-terminal amino acids of proteins are important structure units for maintaining the biological function, localization, and interaction networks of proteins. Under different biological conditions, one or several N-terminal amino acids could be cleaved from an intact protein due to processes, such as proteolysis, resulting in the change of protein properties. Thus, the ability to quantify the N-terminal truncated forms of proteins is of great importance, particularly in the area of development and production of protein-based drugs where the relative quantity of the intact protein and its truncated form needs to be monitored. In this work, we describe a rapid method for absolute quantification of protein mixtures containing intact and N-terminal truncated proteins. This method is based on dansylation labeling of the N-terminal amino acids of proteins, followed by microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis of the proteins into amino acids. It is shown that dansyl labeled amino acids are stable in acidic conditions and can be quantified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS) with the use of isotope analog standards.

  12. Reconciling certification and intact forest landscape conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleinschroth, Fritz; Garcia, Claude; Ghazoul, Jaboury

    2018-05-29

    In 2014, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) added a new criterion to its principles that requires protection of intact forest landscapes (IFLs). An IFL is an extensive area of forest that lacks roads and other signs of human activity as detected through remote sensing. In the Congo basin, our analysis of road networks in formally approved concessionary logging areas revealed greater loss of IFL in certified than in noncertified concessions. In areas of informal (i.e., nonregulated) extraction, road networks are known to be less detectable by remote sensing. Under the current definition of IFL, companies certified under FSC standards are likely to be penalized relative to the noncertified as well as the informal logging sector on account of their planned road networks, despite an otherwise better standard of forest management. This could ultimately undermine certification and its wider adoption, with implications for the future of sustainable forest management.

  13. Ancestral amphibian v2rs are expressed in the main olfactory epithelium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syed, Adnan S.; Sansone, Alfredo; Nadler, Walter; Manzini, Ivan; Korsching, Sigrun I.

    2013-01-01

    Mammalian olfactory receptor families are segregated into different olfactory organs, with type 2 vomeronasal receptor (v2r) genes expressed in a basal layer of the vomeronasal epithelium. In contrast, teleost fish v2r genes are intermingled with all other olfactory receptor genes in a single sensory surface. We report here that, strikingly different from both lineages, the v2r gene family of the amphibian Xenopus laevis is expressed in the main olfactory as well as the vomeronasal epithelium. Interestingly, late diverging v2r genes are expressed exclusively in the vomeronasal epithelium, whereas “ancestral” v2r genes, including the single member of v2r family C, are restricted to the main olfactory epithelium. Moreover, within the main olfactory epithelium, v2r genes are expressed in a basal zone, partially overlapping, but clearly distinct from an apical zone of olfactory marker protein and odorant receptor-expressing cells. These zones are also apparent in the spatial distribution of odor responses, enabling a tentative assignment of odor responses to olfactory receptor gene families. Responses to alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones show an apical localization, consistent with being mediated by odorant receptors, whereas amino acid responses overlap extensively with the basal v2r-expressing zone. The unique bimodal v2r expression pattern in main and accessory olfactory system of amphibians presents an excellent opportunity to study the transition of v2r gene expression during evolution of higher vertebrates. PMID:23613591

  14. Mouse IDGenes: a reference database for genetic interactions in the developing mouse brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthes, Michaela; Preusse, Martin; Zhang, Jingzhong; Schechter, Julia; Mayer, Daniela; Lentes, Bernd; Theis, Fabian; Prakash, Nilima; Wurst, Wolfgang; Trümbach, Dietrich

    2014-01-01

    The study of developmental processes in the mouse and other vertebrates includes the understanding of patterning along the anterior-posterior, dorsal-ventral and medial- lateral axis. Specifically, neural development is also of great clinical relevance because several human neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, autism disorders or drug addiction and also brain malformations are thought to have neurodevelopmental origins, i.e. pathogenesis initiates during childhood and adolescence. Impacts during early neurodevelopment might also predispose to late-onset neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease. The neural tube develops from its precursor tissue, the neural plate, in a patterning process that is determined by compartmentalization into morphogenetic units, the action of local signaling centers and a well-defined and locally restricted expression of genes and their interactions. While public databases provide gene expression data with spatio-temporal resolution, they usually neglect the genetic interactions that govern neural development. Here, we introduce Mouse IDGenes, a reference database for genetic interactions in the developing mouse brain. The database is highly curated and offers detailed information about gene expressions and the genetic interactions at the developing mid-/hindbrain boundary. To showcase the predictive power of interaction data, we infer new Wnt/β-catenin target genes by machine learning and validate one of them experimentally. The database is updated regularly. Moreover, it can easily be extended by the research community. Mouse IDGenes will contribute as an important resource to the research on mouse brain development, not exclusively by offering data retrieval, but also by allowing data input. http://mouseidgenes.helmholtz-muenchen.de. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

  15. Plastic Change along the Intact Crossed Pathway in Acute Phase of Cerebral Ischemia Revealed by Optical Intrinsic Signal Imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoli Guo

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The intact crossed pathway via which the contralesional hemisphere responds to the ipsilesional somatosensory input has shown to be affected by unilateral stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate the plasticity of the intact crossed pathway in response to different intensities of stimulation in a rodent photothrombotic stroke model. Using optical intrinsic signal imaging, an overall increase of the contralesional cortical response was observed in the acute phase (≤48 hours after stroke. In particular, the contralesional hyperactivation is more prominent under weak stimulations, while a strong stimulation would even elicit a depressed response. The results suggest a distinct stimulation-response pattern along the intact crossed pathway after stroke. We speculate that the contralesional hyperactivation under weak stimulations was due to the reorganization for compensatory response to the weak ipsilateral somatosensory input.

  16. Isolation of intact sub-dermal secretory cavities from Eucalyptus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goodger Jason QD

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The biosynthesis of plant natural products in sub-dermal secretory cavities is poorly understood at the molecular level, largely due to the difficulty of physically isolating these structures for study. Our aim was to develop a protocol for isolating live and intact sub-dermal secretory cavities, and to do this, we used leaves from three species of Eucalyptus with cavities that are relatively large and rich in essential oils. Results Leaves were digested using a variety of commercially available enzymes. A pectinase from Aspergillus niger was found to allow isolation of intact cavities after a relatively short incubation (12 h, with no visible artifacts from digestion and no loss of cellular integrity or cavity contents. Several measurements indicated the potential of the isolated cavities for further functional studies. First, the cavities were found to consume oxygen at a rate that is comparable to that estimated from leaf respiratory rates. Second, mRNA was extracted from cavities, and it was used to amplify a cDNA fragment with high similarity to that of a monoterpene synthase. Third, the contents of the cavity lumen were extracted, showing an unexpectedly low abundance of volatile essential oils and a sizeable amount of non-volatile material, which is contrary to the widely accepted role of secretory cavities as predominantly essential oil repositories. Conclusions The protocol described herein is likely to be adaptable to a range of Eucalyptus species with sub-dermal secretory cavities, and should find wide application in studies of the developmental and functional biology of these structures, and the biosynthesis of the plant natural products they contain.

  17. Surface plasmon resonance sensing: from purified biomolecules to intact cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Yu-Wen; Wang, Wei

    2018-04-12

    Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has become a well-recognized label-free technique for measuring the binding kinetics between biomolecules since the invention of the first SPR-based immunosensor in 1980s. The most popular and traditional format for SPR analysis is to monitor the real-time optical signals when a solution containing ligand molecules is flowing over a sensor substrate functionalized with purified receptor molecules. In recent years, rapid development of several kinds of SPR imaging techniques have allowed for mapping the dynamic distribution of local mass density within single living cells with high spatial and temporal resolutions and reliable sensitivity. Such capability immediately enabled one to investigate the interaction between important biomolecules and intact cells in a label-free, quantitative, and single cell manner, leading to an exciting new trend of cell-based SPR bioanalysis. In this Trend Article, we first describe the principle and technical features of two types of SPR imaging techniques based on prism and objective, respectively. Then we survey the intact cell-based applications in both fundamental cell biology and drug discovery. We conclude the article with comments and perspectives on the future developments. Graphical abstract Recent developments in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) imaging techniques allow for label-free mapping the mass-distribution within single living cells, leading to great expansions in biomolecular interactions studies from homogeneous substrates functionalized with purified biomolecules to heterogeneous substrates containing individual living cells.

  18. The Virtual Mouse Brain: A Computational Neuroinformatics Platform to Study Whole Mouse Brain Dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melozzi, Francesca; Woodman, Marmaduke M; Jirsa, Viktor K; Bernard, Christophe

    2017-01-01

    Connectome-based modeling of large-scale brain network dynamics enables causal in silico interrogation of the brain's structure-function relationship, necessitating the close integration of diverse neuroinformatics fields. Here we extend the open-source simulation software The Virtual Brain (TVB) to whole mouse brain network modeling based on individual diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI)-based or tracer-based detailed mouse connectomes. We provide practical examples on how to use The Virtual Mouse Brain (TVMB) to simulate brain activity, such as seizure propagation and the switching behavior of the resting state dynamics in health and disease. TVMB enables theoretically driven experimental planning and ways to test predictions in the numerous strains of mice available to study brain function in normal and pathological conditions.

  19. Visualizing form and function in organotypic slices of the adult mouse parotid gland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warner, Jennifer D; Peters, Christian G; Saunders, Rudel; Won, Jong Hak; Betzenhauser, Matthew J; Gunning, William T; Yule, David I; Giovannucci, David R

    2008-09-01

    An organotypic slice preparation of the adult mouse parotid salivary gland amenable to a variety of optical assessments of fluid and protein secretion dynamics is described. The semi-intact preparation rendered without the use of enzymatic treatment permitted live-cell imaging and multiphoton analysis of cellular and supracellular signals. Toward this end we demonstrated that the parotid slice is a significant addition to the repertoire of tools available to investigators to probe exocrine structure and function since there is currently no cell culture system that fully recapitulates parotid acinar cell biology. Importantly, we show that a subpopulation of the acinar cells of parotid slices can be maintained in short-term culture and retain their morphology and function for up to 2 days. This in vitro model system is a significant step forward compared with enzymatically dispersed acini that rapidly lose their morphological and functional characteristics over several hours, and it was shown to be long enough for the expression and trafficking of exogenous protein following adenoviral infection. This system is compatible with a variety of genetic and physiological approaches used to study secretory function.

  20. Family Relationships and the Psychosocial Adjustment of School-Aged Children in Intact Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hakvoort, Esther M.; Bos, Henny M. W.; Van Balen, Frank; Hermanns, Jo M. A.

    2010-01-01

    The authors investigated whether the quality of three family relationships (i.e., marital, parent-child, sibling) in intact families are associated with each other and with children's psychosocial adjustment. Data were collected by means of maternal and child reports (N = 88) using standardized instruments (i.e., Marital Satisfaction Scale,…

  1. Estimating Carbon Dynamics in an Intact Lowland Mixed Dipterocarp Forest Using a Forest Carbon Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jongyeol Lee

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Intact dipterocarp forests in Asia act as crucial carbon (C reservoirs, and it is therefore important to investigate the C dynamics in these forests. We estimated C dynamics, together with net ecosystem production (NEP, in an intact tropical dipterocarp forest of Brunei Darussalam. Fifty-four simulation units (plots; 20 m × 20 m were established and initial C stocks were determined via direct field measurement. The C dynamics were annually simulated with a regression model and the Forest Biomass and Dead organic matter Carbon (FBDC model. The initial C stock (Mg C·ha−1 of biomass, litter, dead wood and mineral soil were 213.1 ± 104.8, 2.0 ± 0.8, 31.3 ± 38.8, and 80.7 ± 15.5, respectively. Their annual changes (Mg C·ha−1·year−1 were 3.2 ± 1.1, 0.2 ± 0.2, −3.7 ± 6.1, and −0.3 ± 1.1, respectively. NEP was −0.6 ± 6.1 Mg C·ha−1·year−1, showing large heterogeneity among the plots. The initial C stocks of biomass and dead wood, biomass turnover rates and dead wood decay rates were elucidated as dominant factors determining NEP in a sensitivity analysis. Accordingly, investigation on those input data can constrain an uncertainty in determining NEP in the intact tropical forests.

  2. Orthogonal wave propagation of epileptiform activity in the planar mouse hippocampus in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kibler, Andrew B; Durand, Dominique M

    2011-09-01

    In vitro brain preparations have been used extensively to study the generation and propagation of epileptiform activity. Transverse and longitudinal slices of the rodent hippocampus have revealed various patterns of propagation. Yet intact connections between the transverse and longitudinal pathways should generate orthogonal (both transverse and longitudinal) propagation of seizures involving the entire hippocampus. This study utilizes the planar unfolded mouse hippocampus preparation to reveal simultaneous orthogonal epileptiform propagation and to test a method of arresting propagation. This study utilized an unfolded mouse hippocampus preparation. It was chosen due to its preservation of longitudinal neuronal processes, which are thought to play an important role in epileptiform hyperexcitability. 4-Aminopyridine (4-AP), microelectrodes, and voltage-sensitive dye imaging were employed to investigate tissue excitability. In 50-μm 4-AP, stimulation of the stratum radiatum induced transverse activation of CA3 cells but also induced a longitudinal wave of activity propagating along the CA3 region at a speed of 0.09 m/s. Without stimulation, a wave originated at the temporal CA3 and propagated in a temporal-septal direction could be suppressed with glutamatergic receptor antagonists. Orthogonal propagation traveled longitudinally along the CA3 pathway, secondarily invading the CA1 region at a velocity of 0.22 ± 0.024 m/s. Moreover, a local lesion restricted to the CA3 region could arrest wave propagation. These results reveal a complex two-dimensional epileptiform wave propagation pattern in the hippocampus that is generated by a combination of synaptic transmission and axonal propagation in the CA3 recurrent network. Epileptiform propagation block via a transverse selective CA3 lesion suggests a potential surgical technique for the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2011 International League Against Epilepsy.

  3. Of pheromones and kairomones: what receptors mediate innate emotional responses?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortes-Marco, Lluis; Lanuza, Enrique; Martinez-Garcia, Fernando

    2013-09-01

    Some chemicals elicit innate emotionally laden behavioral responses. Pheromones mediate sexual attraction, parental care or agonistic confrontation, whereas predators' kairomones elicit defensive behaviors in their preys. This essay explores the hypothesis that the detection of these semiochemicals relies on highly specific olfactory and/or vomeronasal receptors. The V1R, V2R, and formyl-peptide vomeronasal receptors bind their ligands in highly specific and sensitive way, thus being good candidates for pheromone- or kairomone-detectors (e.g., secreted and excreted proteins, peptides and lipophilic volatiles). The olfactory epithelium also expresses specific receptors, for example trace amine-associated receptors (TAAR) and guanylyl cyclase receptors (GC-D and other types), some of which bind kairomones and putative pheromones. However, most of the olfactory neurons express canonical olfactory receptors (ORs) that bind many ligands with different affinity, being not suitable for mediating responses to pheromones and kairomones. In this respect, trimethylthiazoline (TMT) is considered a fox-derived kairomone for mice and rats, but it seems to be detected by canonical ORs. Therefore, we have reassessed the kairomonal nature of TMT by analyzing the behavioral responses of outbred (CD1) and inbred mice (C57BL/J6) to TMT. Our results confirm that both mouse strains avoid TMT, which increases immobility in C57BL/J6, but not CD1 mice. However, mice of both strains sniff at TMT throughout the test and show no trace of TMT-induced contextual conditioning (immobility or avoidance). This suggests that TMT is not a kairomone but, similar to a loud noise, in high concentrations it induces aversion and stress as unspecific responses to a strong olfactory stimulation. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Radioiodination of an outer membrane protein in intact Rickettsia prowazekii

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smith, D.K.; Winkler, H.H.

    1980-01-01

    Intact Rickettsia prowazekii was radiolabeled with the glucose oxidase-lactoperoxidase method of iodination. Separation of the rickettsial extract into cytoplasmic, outer and inner membrane fractions demonstrated that the outer membrane was preferentially labeled. Analysis of the polypeptides of these fractions on high-resolution slab polyacrylamide gels showed that most of the 125 I was in polypeptide T49, an outer membrane constituent. Additional outer membrane polypeptides were iodinated in broken envelope preparations, demonstrating that T49 is uniquely accessible to the external environment and the asymmetric polypeptide organization of the outer membrane

  5. Immunostimulatory mouse granuloma protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontan, E; Fauve, R M; Hevin, B; Jusforgues, H

    1983-10-01

    Earlier studies have shown that from subcutaneous talc-induced granuloma in mice, a fraction could be extracted that fully protected mice against Listeria monocytogenes. Using standard biochemical procedures--i.e., ammonium sulfate fractionation, preparative electrophoresis, gel filtration chromatography, isoelectric focusing, and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis--we have now purified an active factor to homogeneity. A single band was obtained in NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gel with an apparent Mr of 55,000. It migrated with alpha 1-globulins and the isoelectric point was 5 +/- 0.1. The biological activity was destroyed with Pronase but not with trypsin and a monospecific polyclonal rabbit antiserum was obtained. The intravenous injection of 5 micrograms of this "mouse granuloma protein" fully protects mice against a lethal inoculum of L. monocytogenes. Moreover, after their incubation with 10 nM mouse granuloma protein, mouse peritoneal cells became cytostatic against Lewis carcinoma cells.

  6. Effects of radiation quality on the opening of stomata in intact Phaseolus vulgaris leaves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sikorska, K.; Kozłowska, B.; Ciereszko, I.; Maleszewski, S.

    1997-01-01

    In intact French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) leaves blue radiation enhanced opening of stomata both when it was used individually and when it was used as preirradiation before ''white light'' irradiation. Effects of red radiation were just the contrary

  7. Determination of the intracellular pH of intact erythrocytes by 1H NMR spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabenstein, D.L.; Isab, A.A.

    1982-01-01

    A method is described for determining the intracellular pH of intact erythrocytes by 1 H NMR. The determination is based on the pH dependence of the chemical shifts of resonances for carbon-bounded protons of an indicator molecule (imidazole) in intact cells. The imidazole is introduced into the erythrocytes by incubation in an isotonic saline solution of the indicator. The pH dependence of the chemical shifts of the imidazole resonances is calibrated from 1 H NMR spectra of the imidazole-containing red cell lysates whose pH is varied by the addition of acid or base and measured directly with a pH electrode. To reduce in intensity or eliminate the much more intense envelope of resonances from the hemoglobin, the 1 H NMR measurements are made by either the spin-echo Fourier transform technique or by the transfer-or-saturation by cross-relaxation method

  8. Mouse Resource Browser-a database of mouse databases

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zouberakis, Michael; Chandras, Christina; Swertz, Morris; Smedley, Damian; Gruenberger, Michael; Bard, Jonathan; Schughart, Klaus; Rosenthal, Nadia; Hancock, John M.; Schofield, Paul N.; Kollias, George; Aidinis, Vassilis

    2010-01-01

    The laboratory mouse has become the organism of choice for discovering gene function and unravelling pathogenetic mechanisms of human diseases through the application of various functional genomic approaches. The resulting deluge of data has led to the deployment of numerous online resources and the

  9. Supracapsular glued intraocular lens in progressive subluxated cataracts: Technique to retain an intact vitreous face.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacob, Soosan; Narasimhan, Smita; Agarwal, Amar; Mazzotta, Cosimo; Rechichi, Miguel; Agarwal, Athiya

    2017-03-01

    We describe a technique to prevent late intraocular lens (IOL) subluxation and dislocation that can be associated with progressive zonulopathy. Supracapsular glued IOL fixation is done to retain an intact anterior hyaloid face and avoid vitreous disturbance while providing stable long-term IOL fixation. Phacoemulsification is followed by glued IOL implantation above intact anterior and posterior capsules. Sclerotomies are created ab interno in a supracapsular plane under diametrically opposite lamellar scleral flaps without entering the vitreous cavity. Haptics are externalized in the supracapsular plane and tucked into intrascleral tunnels. Intraoperative or postoperative posterior capsulorhexis or capsulotomy and anterior capsule relaxing cuts can prevent capsule phimosis. Copyright © 2017 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Association of Bystander Interventions With Neurologically Intact Survival Among Patients With Bystander-Witnessed Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakahara, Shinji; Tomio, Jun; Ichikawa, Masao; Nakamura, Fumiaki; Nishida, Masamichi; Takahashi, Hideto; Morimura, Naoto; Sakamoto, Tetsuya

    2015-07-21

    Neurologically intact survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has been increasing in Japan. However, associations between increased prehospital care, including bystander interventions and increases in survival, have not been well estimated. To estimate the associations between bystander interventions and changes in neurologically intact survival among patients with OHCA in Japan. Retrospective descriptive study using data from Japan's nationwide OHCA registry, which started in January 2005. The registry includes all patients with OHCA transported to the hospital by emergency medical services (EMS) and recorded patients' characteristics, prehospital interventions, and outcomes. Participants were 167,912 patients with bystander-witnessed OHCA of presumed cardiac origin in the registry between January 2005 and December 2012. Prehospital interventions by bystander, including defibrillation using public-access automated external defibrillators and chest compression. Neurologically intact survival was defined as Glasgow-Pittsburgh cerebral performance category score 1 or 2 and overall performance category scores 1 or 2 at 1 month or at discharge. The association between the interventions and neurologically intact survival was evaluated. From 2005 to 2012, the number of bystander-witnessed OHCAs of presumed cardiac origin increased from 17,882 (14.0 per 100,000 persons [95% CI, 13.8-14.2]) to 23,797 (18.7 per 100,000 persons [95% CI, 18.4-18.9]), and neurologically intact survival increased from 587 cases (age-adjusted proportion, 3.3% [95% CI, 3.0%-3.5%]) to 1710 cases (8.2% [95% CI, 7.8%-8.6%]). The rates of bystander chest compression increased from 38.6% to 50.9%, bystander-only defibrillation increased from 0.1% to 2.3%, bystander defibrillation combined with EMS defibrillation increased from 0.1% to 1.4%, and EMS-only defibrillation decreased from 26.6% to 23.5%. Performance of bystander chest compression, compared with no bystander chest compression

  11. Phonological abilities in literacy-impaired children: Brain potentials reveal deficient phoneme discrimination, but intact prosodic processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Männel

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Intact phonological processing is crucial for successful literacy acquisition. While individuals with difficulties in reading and spelling (i.e., developmental dyslexia are known to experience deficient phoneme discrimination (i.e., segmental phonology, findings concerning their prosodic processing (i.e., suprasegmental phonology are controversial. Because there are no behavior-independent studies on the underlying neural correlates of prosodic processing in dyslexia, these controversial findings might be explained by different task demands. To provide an objective behavior-independent picture of segmental and suprasegmental phonological processing in impaired literacy acquisition, we investigated event-related brain potentials during passive listening in typically and poor-spelling German school children. For segmental phonology, we analyzed the Mismatch Negativity (MMN during vowel length discrimination, capturing automatic auditory deviancy detection in repetitive contexts. For suprasegmental phonology, we analyzed the Closure Positive Shift (CPS that automatically occurs in response to prosodic boundaries. Our results revealed spelling group differences for the MMN, but not for the CPS, indicating deficient segmental, but intact suprasegmental phonological processing in poor spellers. The present findings point towards a differential role of segmental and suprasegmental phonology in literacy disorders and call for interventions that invigorate impaired literacy by utilizing intact prosody in addition to training deficient phonemic awareness.

  12. In Vivo Real-Time Imaging of Exogenous HGF-Triggered Cell Migration in Rat Intact Soleus Muscles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishido, Minenori; Kasuga, Norikatsu

    2012-01-01

    The transplantation of myogenic cells is a potentially effective therapy for muscular dystrophy. However, this therapy has achieved little success because the diffusion of transplanted myogenic cells is limited. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is one of the primary triggers to induce myogenic cell migration in vitro. However, to our knowledge, whether exogenous HGF can trigger the migration of myogenic cells (i.e. satellite cells) in intact skeletal muscles in vivo has not been reported. We previously reported a novel in vivo real-time imaging method in rat skeletal muscles. Therefore, the present study examined the relationship between exogenous HGF treatment and cell migration in rat intact soleus muscles using this imaging method. As a result, it was indicated that the cell migration velocity was enhanced in response to increasing exogenous HGF concentration in skeletal muscles. Furthermore, the expression of MyoD was induced in satellite cells in response to HGF treatment. We first demonstrated in vivo real-time imaging of cell migration triggered by exogenous HGF in intact soleus muscles. The experimental method used in the present study will be a useful tool to understand further the regulatory mechanism of HGF-induced satellite cell migration in skeletal muscles in vivo

  13. Response of maternal immune cells of irradiation of mouse embryos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nicholls, E.M.; Markovic, B.

    1988-01-01

    This work began as an attempt to explain the paradox of pregnancy - the survival and growth of the semi-allogenic embryo in an immunologically hostile environment. In 1982 and 1983 we reported the tracing of quinacrine labelled maternal leukocytes (WBC) in maternal, placental and embryonic mouse tissues by fluorescence microscopy. We found that cells in the placenta phagocytose labelled WBC, so that after 1-2 hours the labelled nuclear DNA is found as brightly fluorescing particles in the cytoplasm of the phagocytes with no evidence of it in the nuclei. Identical cells were observed in slide preparations of embryos which had been carefully separated from their placentas. We also found a small population of intact labelled lymphocytes, clearly maternal in origin, in the embryos. This seems to be another paradox - placental phagocytes are observed to be phagocytosing maternal WBC in the placenta and embryo, but there are also free maternal cells in the placenta and embryo. A theoretical explanation is that maternal lymphocytes alloreactive against the embryo will attempt to react with placental cells and in the process be phagocytosed, while other maternal cells will be able to enter the embryo where they could have a surveillance function, removing dead or mutant embryonic cells. To test this theory a series of experiments were carried out and are reported

  14. Dissolution of intact UO2 pellet in batch and rotary dissolver conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jayendra Kumar Gelatar; Bijendra Kumar; Sampath, M.; Shekhar Kumar; Kamachi Mudali, U.; Natarajan, R.

    2015-01-01

    Comparative dissolution of intact un-irradiated UO 2 pellet of PHWR fuel dimensions was performed in batch and dynamic rotary dissolver conditions in aqueous nitric acid solutions at elevated temperatures. The extent of dissolution was estimated by determining the uranium concentration of the resulting aqueous solution. It was observed that rate of dissolution was much faster in dynamic conditions as compared to static batch conditions. (author)

  15. Preparation of intact mitochondria using free-flow isoelectric focusing with post-pH gradient sample injection for morphological, functional and proteomics studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He, Yu-Chen; Kong, Fan-Zhi; Fan, Liu-Yin; Wu, Jane Y.; Liu, Xiao-Ping; Li, Jun; Sun, Yan; Zhang, Qiang; Yang, Ying; Wu, Xue-Jing; Xiao, Hua; Cao, Cheng-Xi

    2017-01-01

    Mitochondria play essential roles in both energy metabolism and cell signaling, which are critical for cell survival. Although significant efforts have been invested in understanding mitochondrial biology, methods for intact mitochondria preparation are technically challenging and remain to be improved. New methods for heterogeneous mitochondria purification will therefore boost our understanding on their physiological and biophysical properties. Herein, we developed a novel recycling free-flow isoelectric focusing (RFFIEF) with post-pH gradient sample injection (post-PGSI) for preparative separation of mitochondria. Crude mitochondria of rabbit liver obtained from differential centrifugation were purified by the developed method according to their pI values as six fractions. Transmission electron microscope images revealed that intact mitochondria existed in two fractions of pH 6.24 and 6.61, degenerative mitochondria were in two fractions of pH 5.46 and 5.72, and inner membrane vesicles (IMVs) appeared in the fractions of pH 4.70 and 5.04. Membrane potential measurement proved a dramatic difference between intact mitochondria and IMVs, which reflected the bioactivity of obtained populations. Particularly, proteomics analyses revealed that more number of proteins were identified in the intact fractions than that of IMVs or crude mitochondria, which demonstrated that RFFIEF could be powerful tool for the preparation of intact organelle as well as their proteomic and in-depth biological analysis. - Highlights: • Mitochondrial subpopulation was successfully separated according to their pIs via the developed RFFIEF method. • The post-PGSI method was introduced for the first time to achieve higher recovery of intact mitochondria. • Quick preparation of mitochondria subpopulation via the developed RFFIEF for both pI determination and downstream research.

  16. Pathophysiology of preterm labor with intact membranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talati, Asha N; Hackney, David N; Mesiano, Sam

    2017-11-01

    Preterm labor with intact membranes is a major cause of spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB). To prevent sPTB a clear understanding is needed of the hormonal interactions that initiate labor. The steroid hormone progesterone acting via its nuclear progesterone receptors (PRs) in uterine cells is essential for the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy and disruption of PR signaling (i.e., functional progesterone/PR withdrawal) is key trigger for labor. The process of parturition is also associated with inflammation within the uterine tissues and it is now generally accepted that inflammatory stimuli from multiple extrinsic and intrinsic sources induce labor. Recent studies suggest inflammatory stimuli induce labor by affecting PR transcriptional activity in uterine cells to cause functional progesterone/PR withdrawal. Advances in understanding the functional interaction of inflammatory load on the pregnancy uterus and progesterone/PR signaling is opening novel areas of research and may lead to rational therapeutic strategies to effectively prevent sPTB. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Single guard cell recordings in intact plants : light-induced hyperpolarization of the plasma membrane

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roelfsema, MRG; Steinmeyer, R; Staal, M; Hedrich, R

    Guard cells are electrically isolated from other plant cells and therefore offer the unique possibility to conduct current- and voltage-clamp recordings on single cells in an intact plant. Guard cells in their natural environment were impaled with double-barreled electrodes and found to exhibit

  18. Predicting water-holding capacity of intact chicken broiler breast fillets with Vis/NIR spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    The ability of using visible and near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectroscopy to predict water-holding capacity (WHC) of intact chicken broiler breast fillets (pectoralis major) was assessed in this study. Boneless and skinless chicken fillets (214 in total) were procured from a commercial processing plant ...

  19. EuroPhenome and EMPReSS: online mouse phenotyping resource.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallon, Ann-Marie; Blake, Andrew; Hancock, John M

    2008-01-01

    EuroPhenome (http://www.europhenome.org) and EMPReSS (http://empress.har.mrc.ac.uk/) form an integrated resource to provide access to data and procedures for mouse phenotyping. EMPReSS describes 96 Standard Operating Procedures for mouse phenotyping. EuroPhenome contains data resulting from carrying out EMPReSS protocols on four inbred laboratory mouse strains. As well as web interfaces, both resources support web services to enable integration with other mouse phenotyping and functional genetics resources, and are committed to initiatives to improve integration of mouse phenotype databases. EuroPhenome will be the repository for a recently initiated effort to carry out large-scale phenotyping on a large number of knockout mouse lines (EUMODIC).

  20. Bioengineered human IAS reconstructs with functional and molecular properties similar to intact IAS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Jagmohan

    2012-01-01

    Because of its critical importance in rectoanal incontinence, we determined the feasibility to reconstruct internal anal sphincter (IAS) from human IAS smooth muscle cells (SMCs) with functional and molecular attributes similar to the intact sphincter. The reconstructs were developed using SMCs from the circular smooth muscle layer of the human IAS, grown in smooth muscle differentiation media under sterile conditions in Sylgard-coated tissue culture plates with central Sylgard posts. The basal tone in the reconstructs and its changes were recorded following 0 Ca2+, KCl, bethanechol, isoproterenol, protein kinase C (PKC) activator phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate, and Rho kinase (ROCK) and PKC inhibitors Y-27632 and Gö-6850, respectively. Western blot (WB), immunofluorescence (IF), and immunocytochemical (IC) analyses were also performed. The reconstructs developed spontaneous tone (0.68 ± 0.26 mN). Bethanechol (a muscarinic agonist) and K+ depolarization produced contraction, whereas isoproterenol (β-adrenoceptor agonist) and Y-27632 produced a concentration-dependent decrease in the tone. Maximal decrease in basal tone with Y-27632 and Gö-6850 (each 10−5 M) was 80.45 ± 3.29 and 17.76 ± 3.50%, respectively. WB data with the IAS constructs′ SMCs revealed higher levels of RhoA/ROCK, protein kinase C-potentiated inhibitor or inhibitory phosphoprotein for myosin phosphatase (CPI-17), phospho-CPI-17, MYPT1, and 20-kDa myosin light chain vs. rectal smooth muscle. WB, IF, and IC studies of original SMCs and redispersed from the reconstructs for the relative distribution of different signal transduction proteins confirmed the feasibility of reconstruction of IAS with functional properties similar to intact IAS and demonstrated the development of myogenic tone with critical dependence on RhoA/ROCK. We conclude that it is feasible to bioengineer IAS constructs using human IAS SMCs that behave like intact IAS. PMID:22790596

  1. Teratology studies in the mouse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsden, Edward; Leroy, Mariline

    2013-01-01

    The rat is the routine species of choice as the rodent model for regulatory safety testing of xenobiotics such as medicinal products, food additives, and other chemicals. However, the rat is not always suitable for pharmacological, toxicological, immunogenic, pharmacokinetic, or even practical reasons. Under such circumstances, the mouse offers an alternative for finding a suitable rodent model acceptable to the regulatory authorities. Since all essential routes of administration are possible, the short reproductive cycle and large litter size of the mouse make it a species well adapted for use in teratology studies. Given that good quality animals, including virgin mated females, can be acquired relatively easily and inexpensively, the mouse has been used in reproductive toxicity studies for decades and study protocols are well established.

  2. Specificity of interaction between carcinogenic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and nuclear proteins: widespread occurrence of a restricted pattern of histone-binding in intact cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacLeod, M.C.; Pelling, J.C.; Slaga, T.J.; Nikbakht-Noghrei, P.A.; Mansfield, B.K.; Selkirk, J.K.

    1982-01-01

    Metabolic activation of benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P] produces a number of potentially reactive metabolites. The endproducts of one metabolic pathway, 7,8-dihydroxy-9,10-oxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-B(a)P (BPDE) are responsible for essentially all DNA adduct formation in animal cells treated with B(a)P, and a particular stereoisomer, designated (+)-anti-BPDE is thought to be the ultimate carcinogenic derivative of B(a)P. In hamster embryo cell nuclei treated with (+)-anti-BPDE, two of the histones of the nucleosomal core, H3 and H2A, are covalently modified, while the remaining core histones, H4 and H2B, are essentially unmodified. All four purified core histones, however, serve as targets. 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene and 3-methylcholanthrene show the same pattern of histone binding in hamster embryo cells. Treatment of mouse embryo cells with [ 3 H]-BPDE results in covalent binding of the hydrocarbon to histones H3 and H2A among the many cellular targets, while histones H2B and H4 are not bound. Similar binding patterns are seen in mouse embryo cells, a permanent murine, fibroblastic cell line, and a human mammary epithelial cell line, T47D, treated with [ 3 H]B(a)P. Again, the histones are unevenly labeled, displaying the H3 and H2A pattern. Histone-binding in the human cells may also be mediated by BPDE. Similar BPDE binding patterns were observed in other murine and human cell lines and in primary cultures of murine epidermal epithelial cells. The restriction of histone H2B and H4 binding appears to be general when intact cultured cells are studied. This specificity was not observed in a mixed reconstituted system in which rat liver microsomes were used to activate B(a)P. This finding reinforces reservations concerning the use of microsomal systems to probe the interactions of carcinogens with macromolecules and the relationships of adduct formation with the processes of carcinogenesis

  3. [Management of threatening preterm labor with intact membranes: indications for antibiotics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winer, N

    2002-11-01

    To analyse the benefits and disadvantages of systematic antibiotic therapy in patient presenting a preterm labor with intact membranes. We reviewed French and English reports on Medline using to the following key words: "antibiotic therapy and preterm labor, preterm labor, streptococcus B, vaginose, mycoplasma, antenatal infection". The systematic prescription of antibiotics is not recommended for patients presenting preterm labor who have intact membranes and no symptoms of infection. The benefit of antibiotics is small and shows a tendency to prolong the pregnancy and the reduction of maternal infection. No benefit has been shown for neonatal results. When early-onset neonatal sepsis develops in a case in which antepartum chemoprophylaxis was used, the isolated bacteria will present an increasing risk of bacterial drug resistance. Local treatment (cream or pessary) do not belong in the treatment of threatening preterm labor and are not recommended for the prevention of prematurity or materno fetal infection. Risk groups of patients who present a positive vaginal colonization are subject to discussion. Studies do not allow us to ascertain that antibiotics have a beneficial effect on prematurity in these groups. Antibiotics are recommended for the treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria. This treatment reduces prematurity and maternal infections. Despite poor consensus criteria, if threatening preterm labor is associated with a bacteriuria, experts usually recommend treatment.

  4. Preventing the Androgen Receptor N/C Interaction Delays Disease Onset in a Mouse Model of SBMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lori Zboray

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a polyglutamine expansion in the androgen receptor (AR and is associated with misfolding and aggregation of the mutant AR. We investigated the role of an interdomain interaction between the amino (N-terminal FxxLF motif and carboxyl (C-terminal AF-2 domain in a mouse model of SBMA. Male transgenic mice expressing polyQ-expanded AR with a mutation in the FxxLF motif (F23A to prevent the N/C interaction displayed substantially improved motor function compared with N/C-intact AR-expressing mice and showed reduced pathological features of SBMA. Serine 16 phosphorylation was substantially enhanced by the F23A mutation; moreover, the protective effect of AR F23A was dependent on this phosphorylation. These results reveal an important role for the N/C interaction on disease onset in mice and suggest that targeting AR conformation could be a therapeutic strategy for patients with SBMA.

  5. Iron Biochemistry is Correlated with Amyloid Plaque Morphology in an Established Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Telling, Neil D; Everett, James; Collingwood, Joanna F; Dobson, Jon; van der Laan, Gerrit; Gallagher, Joseph J; Wang, Jian; Hitchcock, Adam P

    2017-10-19

    A signature characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is aggregation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) fibrils in the brain. Nevertheless, the links between Aβ and AD pathology remain incompletely understood. It has been proposed that neurotoxicity arising from aggregation of the Aβ 1-42 peptide can in part be explained by metal ion binding interactions. Using advanced X-ray microscopy techniques at sub-micron resolution, we investigated relationships between iron biochemistry and AD pathology in intact cortex from an established mouse model over-producing Aβ. We found a direct correlation of amyloid plaque morphology with iron, and evidence for the formation of an iron-amyloid complex. We also show that iron biomineral deposits in the cortical tissue contain the mineral magnetite, and provide evidence that Aβ-induced chemical reduction of iron could occur in vivo. Our observations point to the specific role of iron in amyloid deposition and AD pathology, and may impact development of iron-modifying therapeutics for AD. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  6. Circadian oscillators in the mouse brain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rath, Martin F; Rovsing, Louise; Møller, Morten

    2014-01-01

    with conditional cell-specific clock gene deletions. This prompted us to analyze the molecular clockwork of the mouse neocortex and cerebellum in detail. Here, by use of in situ hybridization and quantitative RT-PCR, we show that clock genes are expressed in all six layers of the neocortex and the Purkinje...... and granular cell layers of the cerebellar cortex of the mouse brain. Among these, Per1, Per2, Cry1, Arntl, and Nr1d1 exhibit circadian rhythms suggesting that local running circadian oscillators reside within neurons of the mouse neocortex and cerebellar cortex. The temporal expression profiles of clock genes...... are similar in the neocortex and cerebellum, but they are delayed by 5 h as compared to the SCN, suggestively reflecting a master-slave relationship between the SCN and extra-hypothalamic oscillators. Furthermore, ARNTL protein products are detectable in neurons of the mouse neocortex and cerebellum...

  7. Number and location of mouse mammary tumor virus proviral DNA in mouse DNA of normal tissue and of mammary tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groner, B; Hynes, N E

    1980-01-01

    The Southern DNA filter transfer technique was used to characterize the genomic location of the mouse mammary tumor proviral DNA in different inbred strains of mice. Two of the strains (C3H and CBA) arose from a cross of a Bagg albino (BALB/c) mouse and a DBA mouse. The mouse mammary tumor virus-containing restriction enzyme DNA fragments of these strains had similar patterns, suggesting that the proviruses of these mice are in similar genomic locations. Conversely, the pattern arising from the DNA of the GR mouse, a strain genetically unrelated to the others, appeared different, suggesting that its mouse mammary tumor proviruses are located in different genomic sites. The structure of another gene, that coding for beta-globin, was also compared. The mice strains which we studied can be categorized into two classes, expressing either one or two beta-globin proteins. The macroenvironment of the beta-globin gene appeared similar among the mice strains belonging to one genetic class. Female mice of the C3H strain exogenously transmit mouse mammary tumor virus via the milk, and their offspring have a high incidence of mammary tumor occurrence. DNA isolated from individual mammary tumors taken from C3H mice or from BALB/c mice foster nursed on C3H mothers was analyzed by the DNA filter transfer technique. Additional mouse mammary tumor virus-containing fragments were found in the DNA isolated from each mammary tumor. These proviral sequences were integrated into different genomic sites in each tumor. Images PMID:6245257

  8. The mouse-human anatomy ontology mapping project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayamizu, Terry F; de Coronado, Sherri; Fragoso, Gilberto; Sioutos, Nicholas; Kadin, James A; Ringwald, Martin

    2012-01-01

    The overall objective of the Mouse-Human Anatomy Project (MHAP) was to facilitate the mapping and harmonization of anatomical terms used for mouse and human models by Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The anatomy resources designated for this study were the Adult Mouse Anatomy (MA) ontology and the set of anatomy concepts contained in the NCI Thesaurus (NCIt). Several methods and software tools were identified and evaluated, then used to conduct an in-depth comparative analysis of the anatomy ontologies. Matches between mouse and human anatomy terms were determined and validated, resulting in a highly curated set of mappings between the two ontologies that has been used by other resources. These mappings will enable linking of data from mouse and human. As the anatomy ontologies have been expanded and refined, the mappings have been updated accordingly. Insights are presented into the overall process of comparing and mapping between ontologies, which may prove useful for further comparative analyses and ontology mapping efforts, especially those involving anatomy ontologies. Finally, issues concerning further development of the ontologies, updates to the mapping files, and possible additional applications and significance were considered. DATABASE URL: http://obofoundry.org/cgi-bin/detail.cgi?id=ma2ncit.

  9. Dual pathways for the intracellular processing of insulin. Relationship between retroendocytosis of intact hormone and the recycling of insulin receptors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marshall, S.

    1985-01-01

    Adipocytes process insulin through either of two pathways: a retroendocytotic pathway that culminates in the release of intact insulin, and a degradative pathway that terminates in the intracellular catabolism and release of degraded ligand. Mechanistically, these pathways were found to differ in several ways. First, temporal differences were found in the rate at which intact and degraded products were extruded. After 125 I-insulin was preloaded into the cell interior, intact ligand was completely released during the first 10 min (t 1/2 = 2 min), whereas degraded insulin was released at a much slower rate over 1 h (t 1/2 greater than 8 min). Secondly, it was found that chloroquine profoundly inhibited the insulin degradative pathway, resulting in the intracellular accumulation of intact ligand and a reduction in the release of degraded products. In contrast, however, chloroquine was without effect on the retroendocytotic processing of insulin. Based on the known actions of chloroquine, it appears that retroendocytosis of insulin does not involve vesicular acidification or dissociation of the insulin-receptor complex and that insulin is most likely carried to the cell exterior in the same vesicles (either receptor-bound or free) as those mediating recycling receptors. Interestingly, accumulation of undergraded insulin within chloroquine-treated cells did not result in the release of additional intact ligand, suggesting that once insulin enters the degradative compartment it is committed to catabolism and cannot exit the cell through the retroendocytotic pathway. A third difference was revealed by the finding that extracellular unlabeled insulin (100 ng/ml) markedly accelerated the rate at which preloaded 125 I-insulin was released from adipocytes (t 1/2 of 3 min versus 7 min in controls cells)

  10. Automated setup for characterization of intact histone tails in Suz12-/- stem cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sidoli, Simone; Schwämmle, Veit; Hansen, Thomas Aarup

    Epigenetics is defined as the study of heritable changes that occur without modifying the DNA sequence. Histone proteins are crucial components of epigenetic mechanisms and regulation, since they are fundamental for chromatin structure. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics is already an integrated...... developed a high-resolving and automated LC-MS/MS setup to characterize intact histone tails (middle-down strategy)...

  11. Molecular and FISH analyses of a 53-kbp intact DNA fragment inserted by biolistics in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Partier, A; Gay, G; Tassy, C; Beckert, M; Feuillet, C; Barret, P

    2017-10-01

    A large, 53-kbp, intact DNA fragment was inserted into the wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) genome. FISH analyses of individual transgenic events revealed multiple insertions of intact fragments. Transferring large intact DNA fragments containing clusters of resistance genes or complete metabolic pathways into the wheat genome remains a challenge. In a previous work, we showed that the use of dephosphorylated cassettes for wheat transformation enabled the production of simple integration patterns. Here, we used the same technology to produce a cassette containing a 44-kb Arabidopsis thaliana BAC, flanked by one selection gene and one reporter gene. This 53-kb linear cassette was integrated in the bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genome by biolistic transformation. Our results showed that transgenic plants harboring the entire cassette were generated. The inheritability of the cassette was demonstrated in the T1 and T2 generation. Surprisingly, FISH analysis performed on T1 progeny of independent events identified double genomic insertions of intact fragments in non-homoeologous positions. Inheritability of these double insertions was demonstrated by FISH analysis of the T1 generation. Relative conclusions that can be drawn from molecular or FISH analysis are discussed along with future prospects of the engineering of large fragments for wheat transformation or genome editing.

  12. Selective dansylation of M protein within intact influenza virions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robertson, B.H.; Bennett, J.C.; Compans, R.W.

    1982-12-01

    Exposure of purified influenza virions to (/sup 14/C)dansyl chloride resulted in the covalent attachment of the dansyl chromophore to the virion. Gel electrophoresis revealed that the dansyl chromophore was specifically coupled to the internal membrane (M) protein. Purification of the M protein by gel filtration followed by cyanogen bromide cleavage and peptide fractionation revealed that four of six peptide peaks contained dansyl label. Acid hydrolysis of the separated peptide peaks followed by thin-layer chromatography revealed that dansyl label was coupled to lysine residues present in these peptides. The results of these investigations have demonstrated that the M protein molecule is the major viral polypeptide labeled when intact virions are exposed to dansyl chloride.

  13. Selective dansylation of M protein within intact influenza virions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robertson, B.H.; Bennett, J.C.; Compans, R.W.

    1982-01-01

    Exposure of purified influenza virions to [ 14 C]dansyl chloride resulted in the covalent attachment of the dansyl chromophore to the virion. Gel electrophoresis revealed that the dansyl chromophore was specifically coupled to the internal membrane (M) protein. Purification of the M protein by gel filtration followed by cyanogen bromide cleavage and peptide fractionation revealed that four of six peptide peaks contained dansyl label. Acid hydrolysis of the separated peptide peaks followed by thin-layer chromatography revealed that dansyl label was coupled to lysine residues present in these peptides. The results of these investigations have demonstrated that the M protein molecule is the major viral polypeptide labeled when intact virions are exposed to dansyl chloride

  14. mouseTube – a database to collaboratively unravel mouse ultrasonic communication [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas Torquet

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Ultrasonic vocalisation is a broadly used proxy to evaluate social communication in mouse models of neuropsychiatric disorders. The efficacy and robustness of testing these models suffer from limited knowledge of the structure and functions of these vocalisations as well as of the way to analyse the data. We created mouseTube, an open database with a web interface, to facilitate sharing and comparison of ultrasonic vocalisations data and metadata attached to a recording file. Metadata describe 1 the acquisition procedure, e.g., hardware, software, sampling frequency, bit depth; 2 the biological protocol used to elicit ultrasonic vocalisations; 3 the characteristics of the individual emitting ultrasonic vocalisations (e.g., strain, sex, age. To promote open science and enable reproducibility, data are made freely available. The website provides searching functions to facilitate the retrieval of recording files of interest. It is designed to enable comparisons of ultrasonic vocalisation emission between strains, protocols or laboratories, as well as to test different analysis algorithms and to search for protocols established to elicit mouse ultrasonic vocalisations. Over the long term, users will be able to download and compare different analysis results for each data file. Such application will boost the knowledge on mouse ultrasonic communication and stimulate sharing and comparison of automatic analysis methods to refine phenotyping techniques in mouse models of neuropsychiatric disorders.

  15. Mechanisms of blood pressure changes following renal irradiation of intact, adrenalectomized, and adrenal regenerating rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosenblum, M.

    1977-01-01

    This study was conducted to determine the differences in changes in systolic arterial blood pressure following renal x irradiation (1100 R) in adrenal-intact, adrenalectomized, and adrenal-regenerating rats and to elucidate the involvement or roles of the kidneys and of the adrenal glands in the blood pressure changes. The parameters studied included the following: systolic blood pressure; body weight; food and fluid consumption; urine output; plasma and urine electrolytes; sodium balance; plasma renin activity; plasma corticosterone; renal vascular volume; renal vascular permeability (using 125 I-polyvinylpyrrolidone extravasation rate as an indicator); renal blood flow (using 42 K extraction); kidney weight; hematocrit; and total vascular, plasma, and red cell volumes. Renal x irradiation of intact rats caused polydipsia, polyuria, and reduced urine concentrations of sodium and potassium without significantly affecting blood pressure during the period of study (80 days); plasma renin activity was significantly lowered and had a positive correlation with blood volume; an abnormal blood volume-plasma renin activity relationship is suggested. Adrenalectomy caused prolonged hypotension in saline-maintained rats even though their sodium balance was more positive than that in adrenal-intact or adrenal-regenerating rats with normal or elevated blood pressure. The blood pressure of renally irrradiated, adrenalectomized rats was greater than non-irradiated adrenalectomized rats, but with only borderline significance; it is concluded that the absence of the adrenal glands does not affect the degree or duration of the effects of renal irradiation on blood pressure

  16. Utrophin Compensates dystrophin Loss during Mouse Spermatogenesis

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Hung-Chih; Chin, Yu-Feng; Lundy, David J.; Liang, Chung-Tiang; Chi, Ya-Hui; Kuo, Paolin; Hsieh, Patrick C. H.

    2017-01-01

    Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked genetic disorder resulting from mutations in the dystrophin gene. The mdx/utrn ?/? mouse, lacking in both dystrophin and its autosomal homologue utrophin, is commonly used to model the clinical symptoms of DMD. Interestingly, these mice are infertile but the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. Using dystrophin deficient mdx mouse and utrophin haplodeficient mdx/utrn +/? mouse models, we demonstrate the contribution of Dp427 (f...

  17. Distribution of E-cadherin and ß-catenin in relation to cell maturation and cell extrusion in rat and mouse small intestines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsson, Lars-Inge

    2006-01-01

    of programmed cell death (PCD) in mouse small intestinal epithelium. We have studied if this also occurs in the intact rodent small intestine. Our results confirm that extruded cells are negatie for E-cadherin. However, loss of the E-cadherin-interacting protein ß-cetenin preceded both extrusion and loss of E......-cadherin. Thus, all extruded cells as well as all cells in the process of extrusion lacked staining for ß-catenin. Moreover, almost 80% of all cells undergoing programmed cell death, as detected by the TUNEL reaction, lacked ß-catenin whereas over 70% of such cells were positive for E-cadherin. However, most...... ells lacking ß-catenin did not display signs of PCD as detected by the TUNEL method or by staining for active caspase-3. Therefore, these results suggest that loss of ß-catenin precedes the onset of programmed cell death, loss of E-cadherin and extrusion from the villi....

  18. Mousetrap: An integrated, open-source mouse-tracking package.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kieslich, Pascal J; Henninger, Felix

    2017-10-01

    Mouse-tracking - the analysis of mouse movements in computerized experiments - is becoming increasingly popular in the cognitive sciences. Mouse movements are taken as an indicator of commitment to or conflict between choice options during the decision process. Using mouse-tracking, researchers have gained insight into the temporal development of cognitive processes across a growing number of psychological domains. In the current article, we present software that offers easy and convenient means of recording and analyzing mouse movements in computerized laboratory experiments. In particular, we introduce and demonstrate the mousetrap plugin that adds mouse-tracking to OpenSesame, a popular general-purpose graphical experiment builder. By integrating with this existing experimental software, mousetrap allows for the creation of mouse-tracking studies through a graphical interface, without requiring programming skills. Thus, researchers can benefit from the core features of a validated software package and the many extensions available for it (e.g., the integration with auxiliary hardware such as eye-tracking, or the support of interactive experiments). In addition, the recorded data can be imported directly into the statistical programming language R using the mousetrap package, which greatly facilitates analysis. Mousetrap is cross-platform, open-source and available free of charge from https://github.com/pascalkieslich/mousetrap-os .

  19. Optimization of a widefield structured illumination microscope for non-destructive assessment and quantification of nuclear features in tumor margins of a primary mouse model of sarcoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henry L Fu

    Full Text Available Cancer is associated with specific cellular morphological changes, such as increased nuclear size and crowding from rapidly proliferating cells. In situ tissue imaging using fluorescent stains may be useful for intraoperative detection of residual cancer in surgical tumor margins. We developed a widefield fluorescence structured illumination microscope (SIM system with a single-shot FOV of 2.1 × 1.6 mm (3.4 mm(2 and sub-cellular resolution (4.4 µm. The objectives of this work were to measure the relationship between illumination pattern frequency and optical sectioning strength and signal-to-noise ratio in turbid (i.e. thick samples for selection of the optimum frequency, and to determine feasibility for detecting residual cancer on tumor resection margins, using a genetically engineered primary mouse model of sarcoma. The SIM system was tested in tissue mimicking solid phantoms with various scattering levels to determine impact of both turbidity and illumination frequency on two SIM metrics, optical section thickness and modulation depth. To demonstrate preclinical feasibility, ex vivo 50 µm frozen sections and fresh intact thick tissue samples excised from a primary mouse model of sarcoma were stained with acridine orange, which stains cell nuclei, skeletal muscle, and collagenous stroma. The cell nuclei were segmented using a high-pass filter algorithm, which allowed quantification of nuclear density. The results showed that the optimal illumination frequency was 31.7 µm(-1 used in conjunction with a 4 × 0.1 NA objective (v=0.165. This yielded an optical section thickness of 128 µm and an 8.9 × contrast enhancement over uniform illumination. We successfully demonstrated the ability to resolve cell nuclei in situ achieved via SIM, which allowed segmentation of nuclei from heterogeneous tissues in the presence of considerable background fluorescence. Specifically, we demonstrate that optical sectioning of fresh intact thick tissues

  20. Equol inhibits growth, induces atresia, and inhibits steroidogenesis of mouse antral follicles in vitro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahalingam, Sharada; Gao, Liying; Gonnering, Marni; Helferich, William; Flaws, Jodi A.

    2016-01-01

    Equol is a non-steroidal estrogen metabolite produced by microbial conversion of daidzein, a major soy isoflavone, in the gut of some humans and many animal species. Isoflavones and their metabolites can affect endogenous estradiol production, action, and metabolism, potentially influencing ovarian follicle function. However, no studies have examined the effects of equol on intact ovarian antral follicles, which are responsible for sex steroid synthesis and further development into ovulatory follicles. Thus, the present study tested the hypothesis that equol inhibits antral follicle growth, increases follicle atresia, and inhibits steroidogenesis in the adult mouse ovary. To test this hypothesis, antral follicles isolated from adult CD-1 mice were cultured with vehicle control (dimethyl sulfoxide; DMSO) or equol (600 nM, 6 μM, 36 μM, and 100 μM) for 48 and 96 h. Every 24 h, follicle diameters were measured to monitor growth. At 48 and 96 h, the culture medium was subjected to measurement of hormone levels, and the cultured follicles were subjected to gene expression analysis. Additionally, follicles were histologically evaluated for signs of atresia after 96 h of culture. The results indicate that equol (100 μM) inhibited follicle growth, altered the mRNA levels of bcl2-associated X protein and B cell leukemia/lymphoma 2, and induced follicle atresia. Further, equol decreased the levels of estradiol, testosterone, androstenedione, and progesterone, and it decreased mRNA levels of cholesterol side-chain cleavage, steroid 17-α-hydroxalase, and aromatase. Collectively, these data indicate that equol inhibits growth, increases atresia, and inhibits steroidogenesis of cultured mouse antral follicles. - Highlights: • Equol exposure inhibits antral follicle growth. • Equol exposure increases follicle atresia. • Equol exposure inhibits sex steroid hormone levels. • Equol exposure inhibits mRNA levels of certain steroidogenic enzymes.

  1. Round Spermatid Injection Rescues Female Lethality of a Paternally Inherited Xist Deletion in Mouse.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federica Federici

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available In mouse female preimplantation embryos, the paternal X chromosome (Xp is silenced by imprinted X chromosome inactivation (iXCI. This requires production of the noncoding Xist RNA in cis, from the Xp. The Xist locus on the maternally inherited X chromosome (Xm is refractory to activation due to the presence of an imprint. Paternal inheritance of an Xist deletion (XpΔXist is embryonic lethal to female embryos, due to iXCI abolishment. Here, we circumvented the histone-to-protamine and protamine-to-histone transitions of the paternal genome, by fertilization of oocytes via injection of round spermatids (ROSI. This did not affect initiation of XCI in wild type female embryos. Surprisingly, ROSI using ΔXist round spermatids allowed survival of female embryos. This was accompanied by activation of the intact maternal Xist gene, initiated with delayed kinetics, around the morula stage, resulting in Xm silencing. Maternal Xist gene activation was not observed in ROSI-derived males. In addition, no Xist expression was detected in male and female morulas that developed from oocytes fertilized with mature ΔXist sperm. Finally, the expression of the X-encoded XCI-activator RNF12 was enhanced in both male (wild type and female (wild type as well as XpΔXist ROSI derived embryos, compared to in vivo fertilized embryos. Thus, high RNF12 levels may contribute to the specific activation of maternal Xist in XpΔXist female ROSI embryos, but upregulation of additional Xp derived factors and/or the specific epigenetic constitution of the round spermatid-derived Xp are expected to be more critical. These results illustrate the profound impact of a dysregulated paternal epigenome on embryo development, and we propose that mouse ROSI can be used as a model to study the effects of intergenerational inheritance of epigenetic marks.

  2. Equol inhibits growth, induces atresia, and inhibits steroidogenesis of mouse antral follicles in vitro

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mahalingam, Sharada, E-mail: mahalin2@illinois.edu [Department of Comparative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, 2001 S. Lincoln Ave, Urbana, IL 61802 (United States); Gao, Liying, E-mail: lgao@uiuc.edu [Department of Comparative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, 2001 S. Lincoln Ave, Urbana, IL 61802 (United States); Gonnering, Marni, E-mail: mgonne2@illinois.edu [Department of Comparative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, 2001 S. Lincoln Ave, Urbana, IL 61802 (United States); Helferich, William, E-mail: helferic@illinois.edu [Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, 905 S. Goodwin, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Flaws, Jodi A., E-mail: jflaws@illinois.edu [Department of Comparative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, 2001 S. Lincoln Ave, Urbana, IL 61802 (United States)

    2016-03-15

    Equol is a non-steroidal estrogen metabolite produced by microbial conversion of daidzein, a major soy isoflavone, in the gut of some humans and many animal species. Isoflavones and their metabolites can affect endogenous estradiol production, action, and metabolism, potentially influencing ovarian follicle function. However, no studies have examined the effects of equol on intact ovarian antral follicles, which are responsible for sex steroid synthesis and further development into ovulatory follicles. Thus, the present study tested the hypothesis that equol inhibits antral follicle growth, increases follicle atresia, and inhibits steroidogenesis in the adult mouse ovary. To test this hypothesis, antral follicles isolated from adult CD-1 mice were cultured with vehicle control (dimethyl sulfoxide; DMSO) or equol (600 nM, 6 μM, 36 μM, and 100 μM) for 48 and 96 h. Every 24 h, follicle diameters were measured to monitor growth. At 48 and 96 h, the culture medium was subjected to measurement of hormone levels, and the cultured follicles were subjected to gene expression analysis. Additionally, follicles were histologically evaluated for signs of atresia after 96 h of culture. The results indicate that equol (100 μM) inhibited follicle growth, altered the mRNA levels of bcl2-associated X protein and B cell leukemia/lymphoma 2, and induced follicle atresia. Further, equol decreased the levels of estradiol, testosterone, androstenedione, and progesterone, and it decreased mRNA levels of cholesterol side-chain cleavage, steroid 17-α-hydroxalase, and aromatase. Collectively, these data indicate that equol inhibits growth, increases atresia, and inhibits steroidogenesis of cultured mouse antral follicles. - Highlights: • Equol exposure inhibits antral follicle growth. • Equol exposure increases follicle atresia. • Equol exposure inhibits sex steroid hormone levels. • Equol exposure inhibits mRNA levels of certain steroidogenic enzymes.

  3. Perceived Parental Acceptance Related to Self-Esteem, GPA, Sex-Role Identity, and Substance Use of Adolescents From Intact and Reconstituted Families

    OpenAIRE

    Sniteman, Stephen B.

    1993-01-01

    This investigation assessed the relationship between adolescents of intact families and adolescents in reconstituted families with regard to the effects of perception of parental acceptance on the variables of self-esteem, academic performance, sex role identity, and use o f substances. Observed differences between adolescents of intact and reconstituted families from a structural perspective, eliminating process variables, were also examined. Participants included two hundred fifty-six high ...

  4. Genetic transformation of intact Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis by high-voltage electroporation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McIntyre, D.A.; Harlander, S.K. (Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul (USA))

    1989-03-01

    The objective of this study was to develop a system for electroporating intact cells of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis LM0230 (previously designated Streptococcus lactis LM0230) with a commercially available electroporation unit. Parameters which influenced the efficiency of transformation included growth phase and final concentration of cells, ionic strength of the suspending medium, concentration of plasmid DNA, and the amplitude and duration of the pulse. Washed suspensions of intact cells suspended in deionized distilled water were subjected to one high-voltage electric pulse varying in voltage (300 to 900 V corresponding to field strengths of 5 to 17 kV/cm) and duration (100 {mu}s to 1 s). Transformation efficiencies of 10{sup 3} transformants per {mu}g of DNA were obtained when dense suspensions (final concentration, 5 {times} 10{sup 10} CFU/ml) of stationary-phase cells were subjected to one pulse with a peak voltage of 900 V (field strength, 17 kV/cm) and a pulse duration of 5 ms in the presence of plasmid DNA. Dilution of porated cells in broth medium followed by an expression period of 2 h at 30{degree}C was beneficial in enhancing transformation efficiencies. Plasmids ranging in size from 9.8 to 30.0 kilobase pairs could be transformed by this procedure.

  5. Experimental Studies on Permeability of Intact and Singly Jointed Meta-Sedimentary Rocks Under Confining Pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Louis Ngai Yuen; Li, Diyuan; Liu, Gang

    2013-01-01

    Three different types of permeability tests were conducted on 23 intact and singly jointed rock specimens, which were cored from rock blocks collected from a rock cavern under construction in Singapore. The studied rock types belong to inter-bedded meta-sandstone and meta-siltstone with very low porosity and high uniaxial compressive strength. The transient pulse water flow method was employed to measure the permeability of intact meta-sandstone under a confining pressure up to 30 MPa. It showed that the magnitude order of meta-sandstone's intrinsic permeability is about 10-18 m2. The steady-state gas flow method was used to measure the permeability of both intact meta-siltstone and meta-sandstone in a triaxial cell under different confining pressures spanning from 2.5 to 10 MPa. The measured permeability of both rock types ranged from 10-21 to 10-20 m2. The influence of a single natural joint on the permeability of both rock types was studied by using the steady-state water flow method under different confining pressures spanning from 1.25 to 5.0 MPa, including loading and unloading phases. The measured permeability of both jointed rocks ranged from 10-13 to 10-11 m2, where the permeability of jointed meta-siltstone was usually slightly lower than that of jointed meta-sandstone. The permeability of jointed rocks decreases with increasing confining pressure, which can be well fitted by an empirical power law relationship between the permeability and confining pressure or effective pressure. The permeability of partly open cracked specimens is lower than that of open cracked specimens, but it is higher than that of the specimen with a dominant vein for the meta-sandstone under the same confining pressure. The permeability of open cracked rock specimens will partially recover during the unloading confining pressure process. The equivalent crack (joint) aperture is as narrow as a magnitude order of 10-6 m (1 μm) in the rock specimens under confining pressures

  6. An optimized method for measuring hypocretin-1 peptide in the mouse brain reveals differential circadian regulation of hypocretin-1 levels rostral and caudal to the hypothalamus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justinussen, J L; Holm, A; Kornum, B R

    2015-01-01

    an optimized peptide quantification method for hypocretin-1 extracted from different mouse brain areas and use this method for investigating circadian fluctuations of hypocretin-1 levels in these areas. The results show that hypocretin-1 peptide can be extracted from small pieces of intact tissue...... as does prepro-hypocretin mRNA in the hypothalamus. However, in midbrain and brainstem tissue caudal to the hypothalamus, there was less circadian fluctuation and a tendency for higher levels during the light phase. These data suggest that regulation of the hypocretin system differs between brain areas.......The hypocretin/orexin system regulates, among other things, sleep and energy homeostasis. The system is likely regulated by both homeostatic and circadian mechanisms. Little is known about local differences in the regulation of hypocretin activity. The aim of this study was to establish...

  7. Properties of internalization factors contributing to the uptake of extracellular DNA into tumor-initiating stem cells of mouse Krebs-2 cell line.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolgova, Evgeniya V; Potter, Ekaterina A; Proskurina, Anastasiya S; Minkevich, Alexandra M; Chernych, Elena R; Ostanin, Alexandr A; Efremov, Yaroslav R; Bayborodin, Sergey I; Nikolin, Valeriy P; Popova, Nelly A; Kolchanov, Nikolay A; Bogachev, Sergey S

    2016-05-25

    Previously, we demonstrated that poorly differentiated cells of various origins, including tumor-initiating stem cells present in the ascites form of mouse cancer cell line Krebs-2, are capable of naturally internalizing both linear double-stranded DNA and circular plasmid DNA. The method of co-incubating Krebs-2 cells with extracellular plasmid DNA (pUC19) or TAMRA-5'-dUTP-labeled polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product was used. It was found that internalized plasmid DNA isolated from Krebs-2 can be transformed into competent Escherichia coli cells. Thus, the internalization processes taking place in the Krebs-2 cell subpopulation have been analyzed and compared, as assayed by E. coli colony formation assay (plasmid DNA) and cytofluorescence (TAMRA-DNA). We showed that extracellular DNA both in the form of plasmid DNA and a PCR product is internalized by the same subpopulation of Krebs-2 cells. We found that the saturation threshold for Krebs-2 ascites cells is 0.5 μg DNA/10(6) cells. Supercoiled plasmid DNA, human high-molecular weight DNA, and 500 bp PCR fragments are internalized into the Krebs-2 tumor-initiating stem cells via distinct, non-competing internalization pathways. Under our experimental conditions, each cell may harbor 340-2600 copies of intact plasmid material, or up to 3.097 ± 0.044×10(6) plasmid copies (intact or not), as detected by quantitative PCR. The internalization dynamics of extracellular DNA, copy number of the plasmids taken up by the cells, and competition between different types of double-stranded DNA upon internalization into tumor-initiating stem cells of mouse ascites Krebs-2 have been comprehensively analyzed. Investigation of the extracellular DNA internalization into tumor-initiating stem cells is an important part of understanding their properties and possible destruction mechanisms. For example, a TAMRA-labeled DNA probe may serve as an instrument to develop a target for the therapy of cancer, aiming at elimination of

  8. Family Conflict and Children's Self-Concepts: A Comparison of Intact and Single-Parent Families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raschke, Helen J.; Raschke, Vernon J.

    1979-01-01

    Using the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale to measure self-concept, and self-reports for family structure and family conflict, no significant differences in self-concept scores of children from intact, single-parent, reconstituted, or other types of families were found. Self-concept scores were significantly lower for children reporting…

  9. Cyanine 5.5 conjugated nanobubbles as a tumor selective contrast agent for dual ultrasound-fluorescence imaging in a mouse model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liyi Mai

    Full Text Available Nanobubbles and microbubbles are non-invasive ultrasound imaging contrast agents that may potentially enhance diagnosis of tumors. However, to date, both nanobubbles and microbubbles display poor in vivo tumor-selectivity over non-targeted organs such as liver. We report here cyanine 5.5 conjugated nanobubbles (cy5.5-nanobubbles of a biocompatible chitosan-vitamin C lipid system as a dual ultrasound-fluorescence contrast agent that achieved tumor-selective imaging in a mouse tumor model. Cy5.5-nanobubble suspension contained single bubble spheres and clusters of bubble spheres with the size ranging between 400-800 nm. In the in vivo mouse study, enhancement of ultrasound signals at tumor site was found to persist over 2 h while tumor-selective fluorescence emission was persistently observed over 24 h with intravenous injection of cy5.5-nanobubbles. In vitro cell study indicated that cy5.5-flurescence dye was able to accumulate in cancer cells due to the unique conjugated nanobubble structure. Further in vivo fluorescence study suggested that cy5.5-nanobubbles were mainly located at tumor site and in the bladder of mice. Subsequent analysis confirmed that accumulation of high fluorescence was present at the intact subcutaneous tumor site and in isolated tumor tissue but not in liver tissue post intravenous injection of cy5.5-nanobubbles. All these results led to the conclusion that cy5.5-nanobubbles with unique crosslinked chitosan-vitamin C lipid system have achieved tumor-selective imaging in vivo.

  10. Impact of location of CaCO3 precipitation on the development of intact anaerobic sludge

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Langerak, van E.P.A.; Ramaekers, H.; Wiechers, J.; Veeken, A.H.M.; Hamelers, H.V.M.; Lettinga, G.

    2000-01-01

    The development of intact anaerobic granular sludge was studied in UASB reactors under varying conditions of CaCO3 precipitation and biomass yield. Varying precipitating quantities were obtained using different calcium concentrations in the influent and different biomass yields were obtained by

  11. Melatonin receptors: latest insights from mouse models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tosini, Gianluca; Owino, Sharon; Guillame, Jean-Luc; Jockers, Ralf

    2014-01-01

    Summary Melatonin, the neuro-hormone synthesized during the night, has recently seen an unexpected extension of its functional implications towards type 2 diabetes development, visual functions, sleep disturbances and depression. Transgenic mouse models were instrumental for the establishment of the link between melatonin and these major human diseases. Most of the actions of melatonin are mediated by two types of G protein-coupled receptors, named MT1 and MT2, which are expressed in many different organs and tissues. Understanding the pharmacology and function of mouse MT1 and MT2 receptors, including MT1/MT2 heteromers, will be of crucial importance to evaluate the relevance of these mouse models for future therapeutic developments. This review will critically discuss these aspects, and give some perspectives including the generation of new mouse models. PMID:24903552

  12. Superresolution and Fluorescence Dynamics Evidence Reveal That Intact Liposomes Do Not Cross the Human Skin Barrier

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dreier, Jes; Sørensen, Jens A; Brewer, Jonathan R

    2016-01-01

    In this study we use the combination of super resolution optical microscopy and raster image correlation spectroscopy (RICS) to study the mechanism of action of liposomes as transdermal drug delivery systems in human skin. Two different compositions of liposomes were applied to newly excised human...... skin, a POPC liposome and a more flexible liposome containing the surfactant sodium cholate. Stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED) images of intact skin and cryo-sections of skin treated with labeled liposomes were recorded displaying an optical resolution low enough to resolve the 100 nm...... liposomes in the skin. The images revealed that virtually none of the liposomes remained intact beneath the skin surface. RICS two color cross correlation diffusion measurements of double labeled liposomes confirmed these observations. Our results suggest that the liposomes do not act as carriers...

  13. Radioprotection by dipyridamole in the aging mouse. Effects on lipid peroxidation in mouse liver, spleen and brain after whole-body X-ray irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seino, Noritaka

    1995-01-01

    To investigate the radioprotective effect of dipyridamole in the aging mouse, the lipid peroxide content in aging mouse liver, spleen and brain irradiated by X-ray were measured both before and after injection of dipyridamole. The lipid peroxide content increased with aging from 2 months old to 16 months old in the mouse liver, spleen and brain. The content of lipid peroxide in the liver and spleen of the aging mouse was significantly increased in 7 days after whole-body irradiation with 8 Gy, but was unchanged in the brain. Dipyridamole, given before irradiation, significantly inhibited the increase of lipid peroxide after irradiation. These results suggest that dipyridamole may have radioprotective effects on aging mouse liver and spleen as well as on young mouse, and that inhibition of lipid peroxidation is a possible factor in the radioprotective effect of dipyridamole. (author)

  14. Characterization of 7A7, an anti-mouse EGFR monoclonal antibody proposed to be the mouse equivalent of cetuximab.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xuzhi; Cruz, Jazmina L; Joseph, Shannon; Pett, Nicola; Chew, Hui Yi; Tuong, Zewen K; Okano, Satomi; Kelly, Gabrielle; Veitch, Margaret; Simpson, Fiona; Wells, James W

    2018-02-23

    The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is selectively expressed on the surface of numerous tumours, such as non-small cell lung, ovarian, colorectal and head and neck carcinomas. EGFR has therefore become a target for cancer therapy. Cetuximab is a chimeric human/mouse monoclonal antibody (mAb) that binds to EGFR, where it both inhibits signaling and induces cell death by antibody-dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). Cetuximab has been approved for clinical use in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and colorectal cancer. However, only 15-20% patients benefit from this drug, thus new strategies to improve cetuximab efficiency are required. We aimed to develop a reliable and easy preclinical mouse model to evaluate the efficacy of EGFR-targeted antibodies and examine the immune mechanisms involved in tumour regression. We selected an anti-mouse EGFR mAb, 7A7, which has been reported to be "mouse cetuximab" and to exhibit similar properties to its human counterpart. Unfortunately, we were unable to reproduce previous results obtained with the 7A7 mAb. In our hands, 7A7 failed to recognize mouse EGFR, both in native and reducing conditions. Moreover, in vivo administration of 7A7 in an EGFR-expressing HPV38 tumour model did not have any impact on tumour regression or animal survival. We conclude that 7A7 does not recognize mouse EGFR and therefore cannot be used as the mouse equivalent of cetuximab use in humans. As a number of groups have spent effort and resources with similar issues we feel that publication is a responsible approach.

  15. Dual role of preputial gland secretion and its major components in sex recognition of mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jian-Xu; Liu, Ying-Juan; Zhang, Jin-Hua; Sun, Lixing

    2008-10-20

    This study was aimed at validating the sexual attractiveness of hexadecanol and hexadecyl acetate, two putative pheromone compounds, from preputial gland secretion of mice. These two compounds have been reported to be among the major components of preputial gland secretion in both sexes but higher in quantity in males than females. In this study, we show that castration suppressed the production of the two compounds, further suggesting their association with maleness. Adding preputial gland secretion and the synthetic analogs of the two compounds to castrated male urine at their physiological levels in intact males increased the attractiveness of castrated male urine to female mice, showing that the two compounds were indeed male pheromones. Furthermore, their sexual attractiveness disappeared upon removing the vomeronasal organs (VNOs) from female recipients. Replenishing castrated male urine with preputial gland secretion and the two compounds at their physiological levels in females increased the attractiveness of castrated male urine to males. Such a reversal of sexual attractiveness for hexadecanol and hexadecyl acetate suggests that they had opposing dual effects in sexual attractiveness in a dosage-dependent manner.

  16. Differential transcriptional profiling of damaged and intact adjacent dorsal root ganglia neurons in neuropathic pain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A K Reinhold

    Full Text Available Neuropathic pain, caused by a lesion in the somatosensory system, is a severely impairing mostly chronic disease. While its underlying molecular mechanisms are not thoroughly understood, neuroimmune interactions as well as changes in the pain pathway such as sensitization of nociceptors have been implicated. It has been shown that not only are different cell types involved in generation and maintenance of neuropathic pain, like neurons, immune and glial cells, but, also, intact adjacent neurons are relevant to the process. Here, we describe an experimental approach to discriminate damaged from intact adjacent neurons in the same dorsal root ganglion (DRG using differential fluorescent neuronal labelling and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS. Two fluorescent tracers, Fluoroemerald (FE and 1-dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI, were used, whose properties allow us to distinguish between damaged and intact neurons. Subsequent sorting permitted transcriptional analysis of both groups. Results and qPCR validation show a strong regulation in damaged neurons versus contralateral controls as well as a moderate regulation in adjacent neurons. Data for damaged neurons reveal an mRNA expression pattern consistent with established upregulated genes like galanin, which supports our approach. Moreover, novel genes were found strongly regulated such as corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH, providing novel targets for further research. Differential fluorescent neuronal labelling and sorting allows for a clear distinction between primarily damaged neuropathic neurons and "bystanders," thereby facilitating a more detailed understanding of their respective roles in neuropathic processes in the DRG.

  17. Variable-angle total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy of intact cells of Arabidopsis thaliana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Myung K

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM is a powerful tool for observing fluorescently labeled molecules on the plasma membrane surface of animal cells. However, the utility of TIRFM in plant cell studies has been limited by the fact that plants have cell walls, thick peripheral layers surrounding the plasma membrane. Recently, a new technique known as variable-angle epifluorescence microscopy (VAEM was developed to circumvent this problem. However, the lack of a detailed analysis of the optical principles underlying VAEM has limited its applications in plant-cell biology. Results Here, we present theoretical and experimental evidence supporting the use of variable-angle TIRFM in observations of intact plant cells. We show that when total internal reflection occurs at the cell wall/cytosol interface with an appropriate angle of incidence, an evanescent wave field of constant depth is produced inside the cytosol. Results of experimental TIRFM observations of the dynamic behaviors of phototropin 1 (a membrane receptor protein and clathrin light chain (a vesicle coat protein support our theoretical analysis. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that variable-angle TIRFM is appropriate for quantitative live imaging of cells in intact tissues of Arabidopsis thaliana.

  18. Prediction of valid acidity in intact apples with Fourier transform near infrared spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yan-De; Ying, Yi-Bin; Fu, Xia-Ping

    2005-03-01

    To develop nondestructive acidity prediction for intact Fuji apples, the potential of Fourier transform near infrared (FT-NIR) method with fiber optics in interactance mode was investigated. Interactance in the 800 nm to 2619 nm region was measured for intact apples, harvested from early to late maturity stages. Spectral data were analyzed by two multivariate calibration techniques including partial least squares (PLS) and principal component regression (PCR) methods. A total of 120 Fuji apples were tested and 80 of them were used to form a calibration data set. The influences of different data preprocessing and spectra treatments were also quantified. Calibration models based on smoothing spectra were slightly worse than that based on derivative spectra, and the best result was obtained when the segment length was 5 nm and the gap size was 10 points. Depending on data preprocessing and PLS method, the best prediction model yielded correlation coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.759, low root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.0677, low root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) of 0.0562. The results indicated the feasibility of FT-NIR spectral analysis for predicting apple valid acidity in a nondestructive way.

  19. A report from the Sixth International Mouse Genome Conference

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, S. [Saint Mary`s Hospital Medical School, London (United Kingdom). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics

    1992-12-31

    The Sixth Annual Mouse Genome Conference was held in October, 1992 at Buffalo, USA. The mouse is one of the primary model organisms in the Human Genome Project. Through the use of gene targeting studies the mouse has become a powerful biological model for the study of gene function and, in addition, the comparison of the many homologous mutations identified in human and mouse have widened our understanding of the biology of these two organisms. A primary goal in the mouse genome program has been to create a genetic map of STSs of high resolution (<1cM) that would form the basis for the physical mapping of the whole mouse genome. Buffalo saw substantial new progress towards the goal of a very high density genetic map and the beginnings of substantive efforts towards physical mapping in chromosome regions with a high density of genetic markers.

  20. Enhanced casein kinase II activity during mouse embryogenesis. Identification of a 110-kDa phosphoprotein as the major phosphorylation product in mouse embryos and Krebs II mouse ascites tumor cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schneider, H R; Reichert, G H; Issinger, O G

    1986-01-01

    Mouse embryos at various stages of development were used to study the relationship of protein kinase activities with normal embryogenesis. Casein kinase II (CKII) activity in developing mouse embryos shows a 3-4-fold activity increase at day 12 of gestation. Together with the CKII activity...... mouse tumour cells also show an enhanced CKII activity. Here too, a 110-kDa phosphoprotein was the major phosphoryl acceptor. Partial proteolytic digestion shows that both proteins are identical. Other protein kinases tested (cAMP- and cGMP-dependent protein kinases) only show a basal level of enzyme...

  1. Carcinoma of the cervical stump: comparison of radiation therapy factors, survival and patterns of failure with carcinoma of the intact uterus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Igboeli, P.; Kapp, D.S.; Lawrence, R.; Schwartz, P.E.

    1983-01-01

    Eighty-nine patients with previously untreated invasive carcinoma of the cervical stump were seen at Yale-New Haven Hospital from 1953 through 1977. This represented 9.4% of the carcinomas of the cervix seen during this time period. Eighty-five of the 89 patients (95.5%) had ''true'' cancers of the cervical stump diagnosed 2 years or more after subtotal hysterectomy, while 4 of the 89 patients (4.5%) had ''coincident'' cancers diagnosed within 2 years of the subtotal hysterectomy. All cervical cancers were staged by the F.I.G.O. classification. Patient characteristics, methods of management, failure sites and survival of patients with carcinoma of the cervical stump were compared to those patients with carcinoma in the intact uterus. Patients with cervical stump cancers were treated in a similar manner to those with carcinomas of the intact uterus, using a combination of external beam irradiation and intracavitary radium. The stump cancer patients had a similar stage distribution to the patients with cancers of the intact uterus but, on the average, they were older and received less irradiation. The patterns of failure were similar on a stage for stage basis, but the survival and disease-free survival for stump cancer patients were superior to those of the patients with carcinoma of the intact uterus

  2. Mechanisms of blood pressure changes following renal irradiation of intact, adrenalectomized and adrenal regenerating rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosenblum, M.

    1976-01-01

    Results are reported from studies on the differences in changes in systolic arterial blood pressure following renal x-irradiation (1100 R) in adrenal-intact, adrenalectomized, and adrenal-regenerating rats and the roles of the kidneys and of the adrenal glands in the blood pressure changes

  3. Fertility, pregnancy, and delivery after biventricular repair for pulmonary atresia with an intact ventricular septum

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Drenthen, Willem; Pieper, Petronella G.; Roos-Hesselink, Jollen W.; Zoon, Nicole; Voors, Adrlaan A.; Mulder, Barbara J. M.; van Dijk, Arie P. J.; Vliegen, Hubert W.; Sollie, Krystyna M.; Ebels, Tjark; van Veldhuisen, Dirk J.

    2006-01-01

    The objective of the present study to investigate fertility, pregnancy, and delivery in women with biventricular repair for pulmonary atresia with an intact ventricular septum (PAIVS). Using a nationwide registry (CONCOR), 37 patients with pulmonary atresia were identified, 6 of whom (aged 21 to 34

  4. Fertility, pregnancy, and delivery after biventricular repair for pulmonary atresia with an intact ventricular septum.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Drenthen, W.; Pieper, P.G.; Roos-Hesselink, J.W.; Zoon, N.; Voors, A.A.; Mulder, B.J.M.; Dijk, A.P.J. van; Vliegen, H.W.; Sollie, K.M.; Ebels, T.; Veldhuisen, D.J. van

    2006-01-01

    The objective of the present study to investigate fertility, pregnancy, and delivery in women with biventricular repair for pulmonary atresia with an intact ventricular septum (PAIVS). Using a nationwide registry (CONCOR), 37 patients with pulmonary atresia were identified, 6 of whom (aged 21 to 34

  5. Biotransformation of the citrus flavone tangeretin in rats. Identification of metabolites with intact flavane nucleus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, S.E.; Breinholt, V.; Cornett, C.

    2000-01-01

    were separated and identified by HPLC and the structures elucidated by LC/MS and H-1 NMR. Ten new, major metabolites with intact flavonoid structure were identified. The metabolites identified were either demethylated or hydroxylated derivatives of the parent compound and metabolic changes were found...

  6. The MAGIC Touch: Combining MAGIC-Pointing with a Touch-Sensitive Mouse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drewes, Heiko; Schmidt, Albrecht

    In this paper, we show how to use the combination of eye-gaze and a touch-sensitive mouse to ease pointing tasks in graphical user interfaces. A touch of the mouse positions the mouse pointer at the current gaze position of the user. Thus, the pointer is always at the position where the user expects it on the screen. This approach changes the user experience in tasks that include frequent switching between keyboard and mouse input (e.g. working with spreadsheets). In a user study, we compared the touch-sensitive mouse with a traditional mouse and observed speed improvements for pointing tasks on complex backgrounds. For pointing task on plain backgrounds, performances with both devices were similar, but users perceived the gaze-sensitive interaction of the touch-sensitive mouse as being faster and more convenient. Our results show that using a touch-sensitive mouse that positions the pointer on the user’s gaze position reduces the need for mouse movements in pointing tasks enormously.

  7. Aggression toward Familiar People, Strangers, and Conspecifics in Gonadectomized and Intact Dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farhoody, Parvene; Mallawaarachchi, Indika; Tarwater, Patrick M; Serpell, James A; Duffy, Deborah L; Zink, Chris

    2018-01-01

    Gonadectomy is widely used to treat and prevent behavior problems including the aggressive behavior of dogs. The aim of this study was to determine whether aggressive behavior toward familiar people, strangers, or other dogs was significantly different in dogs gonadectomized at various ages vs. intact dogs using the Canine Behavioral Assessment Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) with multivariate analysis. Of 15,370 initial surveys, those for dogs reported to have been gonadectomized at less than 6 weeks of age or to correct a behavior problem, and those with incomplete answers to questions regarding independent or dependent variables were excluded, leaving 13,795 for the analysis of aggressive behavior toward familiar people: 13,498 for aggressive behavior toward strangers and 13,237 for aggressive behavior toward dogs. Aggressive behavior was defined (a) using mean scores for all questions on the C-BARQ for aggressive behavior (range 0-4) and (b) comparing dogs with no aggressive behavior (all questions answered 0) to dogs with moderate or severe aggression (at least one score of 2, 3, or 4). Data for intact dogs were compared with those for dogs gonadectomized at 6 months or less, 7-12 months, 11-18 months, and >18 months. Neither gonadectomy nor age at gonadectomy showed an association with aggression toward familiar people or dogs. However, there was a low but significant increase in the odds of moderate or severe aggression toward strangers for all gonadectomized dogs compared with intact dogs, but this effect was driven entirely by data for dogs gonadectomized at 7-12 months of age, which were 26% more likely to demonstrate aggression toward strangers. This large, comprehensive study of the relationships between gonadectomy and aggressive behavior in dogs demonstrates that when the many factors affecting aggressive behavior are considered, there is no evidence that gonadectomy at any age alters aggressive behavior toward familiar people or dogs

  8. Isolation of intact RNA from murine CD4+ T cells after intracellular cytokine staining and fluorescence-activated cell sorting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunnath-Velayudhan, Shajo; Porcelli, Steven A

    2018-05-01

    Intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) is a powerful method for identifying functionally distinct lymphocyte subsets, and for isolating these by fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). Although transcriptomic analysis of cells sorted on the basis of ICS has many potential applications, this is rarely performed because of the difficulty in isolating intact RNA from cells processed using standard fixation and permeabilization buffers for ICS. To address this issue, we compared three buffers shown previously to preserve RNA in nonhematopoietic cells subjected to intracellular staining for their effects on RNA isolated from T lymphocytes processed for ICS. Our results showed that buffers containing the recombinant ribonuclease inhibitor RNasin or high molar concentrations of salt yielded intact RNA from fixed and permeabilized T cells. As proof of principle, we successfully used the buffer containing RNasin to isolate intact RNA from CD4 + T cells that were sorted by FACS on the basis of specific cytokine production, thus demonstrating the potential of this approach for coupling ICS with transcriptomic analysis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Relationship between radiobiological hypoxia in a C3H mouse mammary carcinoma and osteopontin levels in mouse serum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lukácová, Slávka; Khalil, Azza Ahmed; Overgaard, Jens

    2005-01-01

    To investigate the possible relationship between radiobiological hypoxia in a C3H mouse mammary carcinoma and osteopontin (OPN) levels measured in mouse serum. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Experiments were performed in CDF1 mice that were either non-tumour bearing or with different sized tumours implanted...... in the right rear foot. Osteopontin levels in extracted mouse blood serum and tissue from the transplanted tumours were measured using an ELISA assay. The tumour oxygenation status was estimated using the Eppendorf Histograph and the fraction of oxygen partial pressure (pO2) values =5 mm Hg (HF5...

  10. Preparation of wholemount mouse intestine for high-resolution three-dimensional imaging using two-photon microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appleton, P L; Quyn, A J; Swift, S; Näthke, I

    2009-05-01

    Visualizing overall tissue architecture in three dimensions is fundamental for validating and integrating biochemical, cell biological and visual data from less complex systems such as cultured cells. Here, we describe a method to generate high-resolution three-dimensional image data of intact mouse gut tissue. Regions of highest interest lie between 50 and 200 mum within this tissue. The quality and usefulness of three-dimensional image data of tissue with such depth is limited owing to problems associated with scattered light, photobleaching and spherical aberration. Furthermore, the highest-quality oil-immersion lenses are designed to work at a maximum distance of image at high-resolution deep within tissue. We show that manipulating the refractive index of the mounting media and decreasing sample opacity greatly improves image quality such that the limiting factor for a standard, inverted multi-photon microscope is determined by the working distance of the objective as opposed to detectable fluorescence. This method negates the need for mechanical sectioning of tissue and enables the routine generation of high-quality, quantitative image data that can significantly advance our understanding of tissue architecture and physiology.

  11. Intraperitoneal delivery of monoclonal antibodies: enhanced regional delivery advantage using intravenous unlabeled anti-mouse antibody

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wahl, R.L.; Fisher, S.

    1987-01-01

    Radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies (MAb) delivered intraperitoneally expose cells in contact with peritoneal fluid to considerably higher levels of MAb than if the MAb dose were given intravenously. This regional delivery advantage for intact MAb is present mainly due to the relatively slow exit of MAb from the peritoneal fluid to the blood. Eventually, following i.p. injection, blood levels of MAb rise resulting in exposure of the animal to high systemic MAb levels and potential toxicity. In this series of experiments, systemic exposure was minimized by the administration of unlabeled goat polyclonal anti-mouse antibody intravenously from 1 1/2 to 6 h following i.p. MAb injection. This maneuver results in the formation of immune complexes with their subsequent clearance and dehalogenation by the reticuloendothelial system, thus minimizing systemic MAb exposure. This approach, of increasing systemic clearance of MAb, did not alter intraperitoneal MAb levels and thus significantly increased the regional delivery advantage to the peritoneal cavity by 70-100%. This approach provides an immunologic rationale for the further enhancement of MAb delivery to i.p. foci of malignant disease and may have diagnostic and therapeutic utility. (author)

  12. Complexity and multifractality of neuronal noise in mouse and human hippocampal epileptiform dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serletis, Demitre; Bardakjian, Berj L.; Valiante, Taufik A.; Carlen, Peter L.

    2012-10-01

    Fractal methods offer an invaluable means of investigating turbulent nonlinearity in non-stationary biomedical recordings from the brain. Here, we investigate properties of complexity (i.e. the correlation dimension, maximum Lyapunov exponent, 1/fγ noise and approximate entropy) and multifractality in background neuronal noise-like activity underlying epileptiform transitions recorded at the intracellular and local network scales from two in vitro models: the whole-intact mouse hippocampus and lesional human hippocampal slices. Our results show evidence for reduced dynamical complexity and multifractal signal features following transition to the ictal epileptiform state. These findings suggest that pathological breakdown in multifractal complexity coincides with loss of signal variability or heterogeneity, consistent with an unhealthy ictal state that is far from the equilibrium of turbulent yet healthy fractal dynamics in the brain. Thus, it appears that background noise-like activity successfully captures complex and multifractal signal features that may, at least in part, be used to classify and identify brain state transitions in the healthy and epileptic brain, offering potential promise for therapeutic neuromodulatory strategies for afflicted patients suffering from epilepsy and other related neurological disorders. This paper is based on chapter 5 of Serletis (2010 PhD Dissertation Department of Physiology, Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto).

  13. Gene : CBRC-TTRU-01-0332 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 2| PREDICTED: similar to vomeronasal 1 receptor, k1 [Equus caballus] 5e-51 40% MTEVWSSLDCCTKFLRIRYSTVTILEIFF...LKPQTSTCVLPSFLFFWVINMLICIWIITNNETVTNASAAQPGYSPVYCKTKRGDYRESAVFQSAMLIRVFLCINLTVWTS

  14. 31P NMR study of phosphate metabolites in intact developing seeds of wheat, soybean and mustard

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gambhir, P.N.; Pande, P.C.; Ratcliffe, R.G.

    1994-01-01

    The study of 31 P NMR spectra of intact developing seeds of wheat, soybean and mustard and its possible use for assessing the relative degree of hypoxia under in vivo conditions are reported. 7 refs., 2 figs

  15. Activation of Six1 Expression in Vertebrate Sensory Neurons.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shigeru Sato

    Full Text Available SIX1 homeodomain protein is one of the essential key regulators of sensory organ development. Six1-deficient mice lack the olfactory epithelium, vomeronasal organs, cochlea, vestibule and vestibuloacoustic ganglion, and also show poor neural differentiation in the distal part of the cranial ganglia. Simultaneous loss of both Six1 and Six4 leads to additional abnormalities such as small trigeminal ganglion and abnormal dorsal root ganglia (DRG. The aim of this study was to understand the molecular mechanism that controls Six1 expression in sensory organs, particularly in the trigeminal ganglion and DRG. To this end, we focused on the sensory ganglia-specific Six1 enhancer (Six1-8 conserved between chick and mouse. In vivo reporter assays using both animals identified an important core region comprising binding consensus sequences for several transcription factors including nuclear hormone receptors, TCF/LEF, SMAD, POU homeodomain and basic-helix-loop-helix proteins. The results provided information on upstream factors and signals potentially relevant to Six1 regulation in sensory neurons. We also report the establishment of a new transgenic mouse line (mSix1-8-NLSCre that expresses Cre recombinase under the control of mouse Six1-8. Cre-mediated recombination was detected specifically in ISL1/2-positive sensory neurons of Six1-positive cranial sensory ganglia and DRG. The unique features of the mSix1-8-NLSCre line are the absence of Cre-mediated recombination in SOX10-positive glial cells and central nervous system and ability to induce recombination in a subset of neurons derived from the olfactory placode/epithelium. This mouse model can be potentially used to advance research on sensory development.

  16. Immunological activity of the mouse splencytes at a later period after irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samojlovich, M.P.; Klimovich, V.B.

    1981-01-01

    CBA and A/Sn mice that had lived for 2-20 months after sublethal irradiation and intact species of the same age were immunized intravenously with the male sheep erythrocytes. The quantity of the antibody forming cells (AFC) in the spleen decreased in 2 or 3.5 months after the irradiation; in 5 or 8 months it did not differ from the normal and in 13 months it decreased again advancing against the similar age shift in the intact group. The same dynamics was observed when investigating the immune response of a standard number of the experimental mice spleen cells in the adaptive transfer system. In periods, when the immune response of irradiated (2 and 200 months after exposure) or intact (aged 20 or 24 months) mice diminished, the quantity of the AFC cells generated adaptively by transferred spleen cells did not practically depend on the quantity of the transplant's cells. The transplantation of the spleen cells of old irradiated or intact mice in a mixture with splenocytes of young intact donors led to the suppression of immune reactions of normal cells. On the basis of the data obtained the conclusion was made that the late radiation immunodepression was primarily caused by functional defects of the immunocompetent cells and not by their numeric deficit

  17. Sequence and chromosomal localization of the mouse brevican gene

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rauch, U; Meyer, H; Brakebusch, C

    1997-01-01

    Brevican is a brain-specific proteoglycan belonging to the aggrecan family. Phage clones containing the complete mouse brevican open reading frame of 2649 bp and the complete 3'-untranslated region of 341 bp were isolated from a mouse brain cDNA library, and cosmid clones containing the mouse...

  18. Conservation experiments applying radiation-curable impregnating agents to intact and artifically decayed wood samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaudy, R.; Slais, E.

    1983-02-01

    Conservation experiments have been performed applying 10 selected impregnating agents to intact and chemically as well as biologically decayed wood samples. The quality of the radiation-curable impregnating agents could be valued by determination of the monomer uptake, the alteration of dimensions and volume and the deformation of the samples. The results are to be discussed. (Author) [de

  19. The wobbler mouse, an ALS animal model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moser, Jakob Maximilian; Bigini, Paolo; Schmitt-John, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    This review article is focused on the research progress made utilizing the wobbler mouse as animal model for human motor neuron diseases, especially the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The wobbler mouse develops progressive degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons and shows striking...

  20. Gene : CBRC-TTRU-01-1304 [SEVENS

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 1| PREDICTED: similar to vomeronasal 1 receptor, K1 [Bos taurus] 2e-45 50% MILMHLTLANIMTILFRGIQDAMSSFGIWPIMG...DIGCKSLLYIHRVTQGISLCTISVLNTFQAIRISPRNSKRAWLKPQISTCILPSFLFFWVINMLIYFWIITNNKAVTNASAAQPGYSLAYCTTKQGGYRVSAVFQSAMLI*NFLCINLMIWTSGYMVMLLYNHHKTVQNLRGNNFSPRLSPETKLPTPFCS ...

  1. Chemical Aspects of Lesser Mouse Deer Meat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Djalal Rosyidi

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available An experiment aiming for studying chemical aspects of lesser mouse deer meat (Tragulus javanicus. This research explored the chemical aspects of lesser mouse deer meat (Tragulus javanicus. Eight lesser mouse deer (four female and four male were used in chemical aspects of lesser mouse deer meat. The parameters observed included proximate analysis, amino acid, fatty acid, cholesterol and EPA-DHA of the meat. The results showed that average meat chemical composition were content of water, protein, fat, ash and cholesterol were 76.33 %, 21.42 %, 0.51 %, 1.20% and 50.00 mg/100 g, respectively. Fatty acid consist of lauric acid, miristate, palmitate, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and linolenic were 1.04 % 3.09%, 30.97, 0.77%., 59.41%, 3.22% and 1.12%, respectively. The total EPA and DHA was 0.13% and 0.05%,   Keywords: amino acid, fatty acid, cholesterol and EPA-DHA

  2. A catalog of the mouse gut metagenome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xiao, Liang; Feng, Qiang; Liang, Suisha

    2015-01-01

    laboratories and fed either a low-fat or high-fat diet. Similar to the human gut microbiome, >99% of the cataloged genes are bacterial. We identified 541 metagenomic species and defined a core set of 26 metagenomic species found in 95% of the mice. The mouse gut microbiome is functionally similar to its human......We established a catalog of the mouse gut metagenome comprising ∼2.6 million nonredundant genes by sequencing DNA from fecal samples of 184 mice. To secure high microbiome diversity, we used mouse strains of diverse genetic backgrounds, from different providers, kept in different housing...... counterpart, with 95.2% of its Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) orthologous groups in common. However, only 4.0% of the mouse gut microbial genes were shared (95% identity, 90% coverage) with those of the human gut microbiome. This catalog provides a useful reference for future studies....

  3. DETERMINATION OF THE MINIMUM INTACT DIMENSIONS AVAILABLE IN PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF LASER CUTTING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Gyorgy HORVATH

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The reuse of wastes is one of the main requirements of sustainable wood processing. Technologies available for waste management however are currently suited to the reuse of large quantities. This study investigates the utilisation of individual pieces of sawn wood and veneer wastes by laser cutting, with special emphasis on the search for the practical minimum intact dimension that can be produced by laser cutting

  4. 10. international mouse genome conference

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meisler, M.H.

    1996-12-31

    Ten years after hosting the First International Mammalian Genome Conference in Paris in 1986, Dr. Jean-Louis Guenet presided over the Tenth Conference at the Pasteur Institute, October 7--10, 1996. The 1986 conference was a satellite to the Human Gene Mapping Workshop and had approximately 50 attendees. The 1996 meeting was attended by 300 scientists from around the world. In the interim, the number of mapped loci in the mouse increased from 1,000 to over 20,000. This report contains a listing of the program and its participants, and two articles that review the meeting and the role of the laboratory mouse in the Human Genome project. More than 200 papers were presented at the conference covering the following topics: International mouse chromosome committee meetings; Mutant generation and identification; Physical and genetic maps; New technology and resources; Chromatin structure and gene regulation; Rate and hamster genetic maps; Informatics and databases; and Quantitative trait analysis.

  5. Mouse Models of Gastric Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayakawa, Yoku; Fox, James G.; Gonda, Tamas; Worthley, Daniel L.; Muthupalani, Sureshkumar; Wang, Timothy C.

    2013-01-01

    Animal models have greatly enriched our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of numerous types of cancers. Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, with a poor prognosis and high incidence of drug-resistance. However, most inbred strains of mice have proven resistant to gastric carcinogenesis. To establish useful models which mimic human gastric cancer phenotypes, investigators have utilized animals infected with Helicobacter species and treated with carcinogens. In addition, by exploiting genetic engineering, a variety of transgenic and knockout mouse models of gastric cancer have emerged, such as INS-GAS mice and TFF1 knockout mice. Investigators have used the combination of carcinogens and gene alteration to accelerate gastric cancer development, but rarely do mouse models show an aggressive and metastatic gastric cancer phenotype that could be relevant to preclinical studies, which may require more specific targeting of gastric progenitor cells. Here, we review current gastric carcinogenesis mouse models and provide our future perspectives on this field. PMID:24216700

  6. Mouse models of Fanconi anemia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parmar, Kalindi; D'Andrea, Alan; Niedernhofer, Laura J.

    2009-01-01

    Fanconi anemia is a rare inherited disease characterized by congenital anomalies, growth retardation, aplastic anemia and an increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia and squamous cell carcinomas. The disease is caused by mutation in genes encoding proteins required for the Fanconi anemia pathway, a response mechanism to replicative stress, including that caused by genotoxins that cause DNA interstrand crosslinks. Defects in the Fanconi anemia pathway lead to genomic instability and apoptosis of proliferating cells. To date, 13 complementation groups of Fanconi anemia were identified. Five of these genes have been deleted or mutated in the mouse, as well as a sixth key regulatory gene, to create mouse models of Fanconi anemia. This review summarizes the phenotype of each of the Fanconi anemia mouse models and highlights how genetic and interventional studies using the strains have yielded novel insight into therapeutic strategies for Fanconi anemia and into how the Fanconi anemia pathway protects against genomic instability.

  7. Mouse models of Fanconi anemia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Parmar, Kalindi; D' Andrea, Alan [Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, 44 Binney Street, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Niedernhofer, Laura J., E-mail: niedernhoferl@upmc.edu [Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Cancer Institute, 5117 Centre Avenue, Hillman Cancer Center, Research Pavilion 2.6, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-1863 (United States)

    2009-07-31

    Fanconi anemia is a rare inherited disease characterized by congenital anomalies, growth retardation, aplastic anemia and an increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia and squamous cell carcinomas. The disease is caused by mutation in genes encoding proteins required for the Fanconi anemia pathway, a response mechanism to replicative stress, including that caused by genotoxins that cause DNA interstrand crosslinks. Defects in the Fanconi anemia pathway lead to genomic instability and apoptosis of proliferating cells. To date, 13 complementation groups of Fanconi anemia were identified. Five of these genes have been deleted or mutated in the mouse, as well as a sixth key regulatory gene, to create mouse models of Fanconi anemia. This review summarizes the phenotype of each of the Fanconi anemia mouse models and highlights how genetic and interventional studies using the strains have yielded novel insight into therapeutic strategies for Fanconi anemia and into how the Fanconi anemia pathway protects against genomic instability.

  8. Transbilayer distribution and mobility of phosphatidylcholine in intact erythrocyte membranes. A study with phosphatidylcholine exchange protein

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Meer, G.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/068570368; Poorthuis, B.J.H.M.; Wirtz, K.W.A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/068427956; op den Kamp, J.A.F.; van Deenen, L.L.M.

    1980-01-01

    The exchange of phosphatidylcholine between intact human or rat erythrocytes and rat liver microsomes was greatly stimulated by phosphatidylcholine-specific exchange proteins from rat liver and beef liver. It was found, however, that compared to the exchange reaction between phospholipid vesicles

  9. Intact long-type dupA as a marker for gastroduodenal diseases in Okinawan subpopulation, Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Ayaka; Shiota, Seiji; Matsunari, Osamu; Watada, Masahide; Suzuki, Rumiko; Nakachi, Saori; Kinjo, Nagisa; Kinjo, Fukunori; Yamaoka, Yoshio

    2013-02-01

    Helicobacter pylori dupA can be divided into two types according to the presence or absence of the mutation. In addition, full-sequenced data revealed that dupA has two types with different lengths depend on the presence of approximately 600 bp in the putative 5' region (presence; long-type and absence; short-type), which has not been taken into account in previous studies. A total of 319 strains isolated from Okinawa, the south islands of Japan, were included. The status of dupA and cagA was determined by polymerase chain reaction. The presence of mutations in long-type dupA was determined by DNA sequencing. The prevalence of long-type dupA was 26.3% (84/319). Sequence analysis showed that there were only six cases (7.1%) with point mutations lead to stop codon among 84 long-type dupA strains studied. Interestingly, intact long-type dupA without frameshift mutation, but not short-type dupA, was significantly associated with gastric ulcer and gastric cancer than gastritis (p = .001 and p = .019, respectively). After adjustment by age, gender, and cagA, the presence of intact long-type dupA was significantly associated with gastric ulcer and gastric cancer compared with gastritis (odds ratio [OR] = 3.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.55-7.24 and OR = 4.14, 95% CI = 1.23-13.94, respectively). Intact long-type dupA is a real virulence marker for severe outcomes in Okinawa, Japan. The previous information gained from PCR-based methods without taking long-type dupA into account must be interpreted with caution. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  10. Structure of the intact ATM/Tel1 kinase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xuejuan; Chu, Huanyu; Lv, Mengjuan; Zhang, Zhihui; Qiu, Shuwan; Liu, Haiyan; Shen, Xuetong; Wang, Weiwu; Cai, Gang

    2016-05-01

    The ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) protein is an apical kinase that orchestrates the multifaceted DNA-damage response. Normally, ATM kinase is in an inactive, homodimer form and is transformed into monomers upon activation. Besides a conserved kinase domain at the C terminus, ATM contains three other structural modules, referred to as FAT, FATC and N-terminal helical solenoid. Here we report the first cryo-EM structure of ATM kinase, which is an intact homodimeric ATM/Tel1 from Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We show that two monomers directly contact head-to-head through the FAT and kinase domains. The tandem N-terminal helical solenoid tightly packs against the FAT and kinase domains. The structure suggests that ATM/Tel1 dimer interface and the consecutive HEAT repeats inhibit the binding of kinase substrates and regulators by steric hindrance. Our study provides a structural framework for understanding the mechanisms of ATM/Tel1 regulation as well as the development of new therapeutic agents.

  11. Enzymatic changes in intact leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris following ozone fumigation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dass, H C; Weaver, G M

    1972-01-01

    Enzymatic changes in the intact leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Seaway 65 were studied following ozone fumigation. It was found that peroxidase enzyme increased significantly with the ozone treatment in the first 48 h. Similarly, cellulase enzyme showed significant increase 48 h. following ozone treatment. Lactic dehydrogenase activity was not markedly affected by ozone treatment. Disc electrophoretic studies of peroxidase isoenzymes showed that ozone treatment induced a new band of peroxidase. The role of peroxidase, cellulase and lactic dehydrogenase enzymes is discussed in relation to ozone damage and the bronzing disorder in white beans. 22 references, 1 figure, 1 table.

  12. The effect of coracoacromial ligament excision and acromioplasty on the amount of rotator cuff force production necessary to restore intact glenohumeral biomechanics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budoff, Jeffrey E; Lin, Cheng-Li; Hong, Chih-Kai; Chiang, Florence L; Su, Wei-Ren

    2016-06-01

    Coracoacromial ligament (CAL) excision and acromioplasty increase superior and anterosuperior glenohumeral translation. It is unknown how much of an increase in rotator cuff force production is required to re-establish intact glenohumeral biomechanics after these surgical procedures. We hypothesized that, after CAL excision and acromioplasty, an increase in rotator cuff force production would not be necessary to reproduce the anterosuperior and superior translations of the intact specimens. Nine cadaveric shoulders were subjected to loading in the superior and anterosuperior directions in the intact state after CAL excision, acromioplasty, and recording of the translations. The rotator cuff force was then increased to normalize glenohumeral biomechanics. After CAL excision at 150 and 200 N of loading, an increase in the rotator cuff force by 25% decreased anterosuperior translation to the point where there was no significant difference from the intact specimen's translation. After acromioplasty (and CAL excision) at 150 and 200 N, an increase in the rotator cuff force of 25% and 30%, respectively, decreased superior translation to the point where there was no significant difference from the intact specimen's translation. At 150 to 200 N of loading, CAL excision and acromioplasty increase the rotator cuff force required to maintain normal glenohumeral biomechanics by 25% to 30%. After a subacromial decompression, the rotator cuff has an increased force production requirement to maintain baseline glenohumeral mechanics. Under many circumstances, in vivo force requirements may be even greater after surgical attenuation of the coracoacromial arch. Basic Science Study; Biomechanics. Copyright © 2016 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. New approach to measure soil particulate organic matter in intact samples using X-ray computed micro-tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kravchenko, Alexandra; Negassa, Wakene; Guber, Andrey; Schmidt, Sonja

    2014-05-01

    Particulate soil organic matter (POM) is biologically and chemically active fraction of soil organic matter. It is a source of many agricultural and ecological benefits, among which are POM's contribution to C sequestration. Most of conventional research methods for studying organic matter dynamics involve measurements conducted on pre-processed i.e., ground and sieved soil samples. Unfortunately, grinding and sieving completely destroys soil structure, the component crucial for soil functioning and C protection. Importance of a better understanding of the role of soil structure and of the physical protection that it provides to soil C cannot be overstated; and analysis of quantities, characteristics, and decomposition rates of POM in soil samples with intact structure is among the key elements of gaining such understanding. However, a marked difficulty hindering the progress in such analyses is a lack of tools for identification and quantitative analysis of POM in intact soil samples. Recent advancement in applications of X-ray computed micro-tomography (μ-CT) to soil science has given an opportunity to conduct such analyses. The objective of the current study is to develop a procedure for identification and quantitative characterization of POM within intact soil samples using X-ray μ-CT images and to test performance of the proposed procedure on a set of multiple intact soil macro-aggregates. We used 16 4-6 mm soil aggregates collected at 0-15 cm depth from a Typic Hapludalf soil at multiple field sites with diverse agricultural management history. The aggregates have been scanned at SIMBIOS Centre, Dundee, Scotland at 10 micron resolution. POM was determined from the aggregate images using the developed procedure. The procedure was based on combining image pre-processing steps with discriminant analysis classification. The first component of the procedure consisted of image pre-processing steps based on the range of gray values (GV) along with shape and size

  14. Decubitus grade IV (deep pressure sore) with intact skin in a patient with spinal cord injury

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Theunissen, C.C.W.; Zeilstra, J.T.; van Voorst Vader, P.C.; Kardaun, S.H.; Leeman, F.W.J.

    2006-01-01

    Even with intact skin the possibility of pressure sores should not be dismissed. Early recognition of a pressure sore is important for adequate treatment and prevention of progression. Multidisciplinary intervention is essential. A wheelchair patient with spinal cord injury is described, who

  15. Transbilayer distribution and mobility of phosphatidylcholine in intact erythrocyte membranes. A study with phosphatidylcholine exchange protein

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Meer, G.; Poorthuis, B. J.; Wirtz, K. W.; Op den Kamp, J. A.; van Deenen, L. L.

    1980-01-01

    1. The exchange of phosphatidylcholine between intact human or rat erythrocytes and rat liver microsomes was greatly stimulated by phosphatidylcholine-specific exchange proteins from rat liver and beef liver. It was found, however, that compared to the exchange reaction between phospholipid vesicles

  16. Mouse myocardial first-pass perfusion MR imaging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coolen, Bram F.; Moonen, Rik P. M.; Paulis, Leonie E. M.; Geelen, Tessa; Nicolay, Klaas; Strijkers, Gustav J.

    2010-01-01

    A first-pass myocardial perfusion sequence for mouse cardiac MRI is presented. A segmented ECG-triggered acquisition combined with parallel imaging acceleration was used to capture the first pass of a Gd-DTPA bolus through the mouse heart with a temporal resolution of 300-400 msec. The method was

  17. Mouse adenovirus type 1 infection of macrophages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ashley, S.L.; Welton, A.R.; Harwood, K.M.; Rooijen, van N.; Spindler, K.R.

    2009-01-01

    Mouse adenovirus type 1 (MAV-1) causes acute and persistent infections in mice, with high levels of virus found in the brain, spinal cord and spleen in acute infections. MAV-1 infects endothelial cells throughout the mouse, and monocytes/macrophages have also been implicated as targets of the virus.

  18. Radiolabelling of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) in intact Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells; consequences of β-lactamase activity by PBP-5

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Livermore, D.M.

    1987-01-01

    The time-course of labelling of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) was compared for intact and sonicated cell preparations of nine Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, all of which gave identical PBP profiles. Saturation of all the PBPs in cell-sonicates occurred within 2 min of exposure to 14 [C] benzylpenicillin. PBP-5 formed an unstable penicilloyl-complex: the other PBPs formed highly stable complexes. Saturation of PBP-4 in intact cells occurred within 2 min of exposure to the antibiotic, correlating with the high affinity of this protein for penicillin. Labelling of PBPs 1a, 1b and 3 was slow but progressive, suggesting that these proteins were shielded by the permeability barrier(s) of the cell. Labelling of PBP-5 in intact cells achieved 10-20% saturation within 2-10 min of exposure to 14 [C] benzylpenicillin, but did not increase subsequently. This behaviour may indicate that establishment of a steady state between the formation and breakdown of the PBP-5-penicillin complex, suggesting that PBP-5, potentiated by the permeability barrier, functions as a feeble β-lactamase. Such activity may distort the labelling of other PBPs by reducing the concentration of penicillin in the periplasm. (author)

  19. Structure of a mouse immunoglobulin G that lacks the entire CH1 domain: Protein sequencing and small-angle X-ray scattering studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Igarashi, Takako; Tanaka, Toshiyuki; Nakanishi, Mamoru; Arata, Yoji; Sato, Mamoru; Katsube, Yukiteru; Takio, Koji

    1990-01-01

    The structure of a short-chain IgG2a antibody, which is a member of the family of mouse anti-dansyl switch variant antibodies with identical variable regions but different heavy-chain constant regions, is reported. Amino acid sequencing analyses have demonstrated that in the short-chain IgG2a antibody the entire C H 1 domain is deleted whereas the hinge region remains intact. Small-angle X-ray scattering data were collected for the short-chain IgG2a antibody and compared with those for the switch variant IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b antibodies with the normal heavy chain. It has been concluded that deletion of the C H 1 domain results in a large structural change and the short-chain IgG2a antibody possesses an elongated molecular shape with a much smaller hinge angle as compared with the normal IgG2a antibody that is a Y-shaped molecule

  20. Excitons in intact cells of photosynthetic bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freiberg, Arvi; Pajusalu, Mihkel; Rätsep, Margus

    2013-09-26

    Live cells and regular crystals seem fundamentally incompatible. Still, effects characteristic to ideal crystals, such as coherent sharing of excitation, have been recently used in many studies to explain the behavior of several photosynthetic complexes, especially the inner workings of the light-harvesting apparatus of the oldest known photosynthetic organisms, the purple bacteria. To this date, there has been no concrete evidence that the same effects are instrumental in real living cells, leaving a possibility that this is an artifact of unnatural study conditions, not a real effect relevant to the biological operation of bacteria. Hereby, we demonstrate survival of collective coherent excitations (excitons) in intact cells of photosynthetic purple bacteria. This is done by using excitation anisotropy spectroscopy for tracking the temperature-dependent evolution of exciton bands in light-harvesting systems of increasing structural complexity. The temperature was gradually raised from 4.5 K to ambient temperature, and the complexity of the systems ranged from detergent-isolated complexes to complete bacterial cells. The results provide conclusive evidence that excitons are indeed one of the key elements contributing to the energetic and dynamic properties of photosynthetic organisms.

  1. Intact Pituitary Function is Decisive for the Catabolic Response to TNF-α

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bach, Ermina; Møller, Andreas B; Jørgensen, Jens O L

    2015-01-01

    Context: TNF-α generates inflammatory responses and insulin resistance, lipolysis and protein breakdown. It is unclear whether these changes depend on intact hypothalamo-pituitary stress hormone responses triggering release of cortisol and growth hormone. Objective: To define differential effects......-α on lipase expression or regulation in fat. Conclusions: TNF-α increased both urea and amino acid fluxes and EGP significantly more in CTR compared to HP, suggesting that increases in endogenous cortisol and GH release are significant components of the metabolic response to TNF-α....

  2. Standard anatomical and visual space for the mouse retina: computational reconstruction and transformation of flattened retinae with the Retistruct package.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David C Sterratt

    Full Text Available The concept of topographic mapping is central to the understanding of the visual system at many levels, from the developmental to the computational. It is important to be able to relate different coordinate systems, e.g. maps of the visual field and maps of the retina. Retinal maps are frequently based on flat-mount preparations. These use dissection and relaxing cuts to render the quasi-spherical retina into a 2D preparation. The variable nature of relaxing cuts and associated tears limits quantitative cross-animal comparisons. We present an algorithm, "Retistruct," that reconstructs retinal flat-mounts by mapping them into a standard, spherical retinal space. This is achieved by: stitching the marked-up cuts of the flat-mount outline; dividing the stitched outline into a mesh whose vertices then are mapped onto a curtailed sphere; and finally moving the vertices so as to minimise a physically-inspired deformation energy function. Our validation studies indicate that the algorithm can estimate the position of a point on the intact adult retina to within 8° of arc (3.6% of nasotemporal axis. The coordinates in reconstructed retinae can be transformed to visuotopic coordinates. Retistruct is used to investigate the organisation of the adult mouse visual system. We orient the retina relative to the nictitating membrane and compare this to eye muscle insertions. To align the retinotopic and visuotopic coordinate systems in the mouse, we utilised the geometry of binocular vision. In standard retinal space, the composite decussation line for the uncrossed retinal projection is located 64° away from the retinal pole. Projecting anatomically defined uncrossed retinal projections into visual space gives binocular congruence if the optical axis of the mouse eye is oriented at 64° azimuth and 22° elevation, in concordance with previous results. Moreover, using these coordinates, the dorsoventral boundary for S-opsin expressing cones closely matches

  3. Mouse myocardial first-pass perfusion MR imaging

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coolen, B.F.; Moonen, R.P.M.; Paulis, L.E.M.; Geelen, T.; Nicolay, K.; Strijkers, G.J.

    2010-01-01

    A first-pass myocardial perfusion sequence for mouse cardiac MRI is presented. A segmented ECG-triggered acquisition combined with parallel imaging acceleration was used to capture the first pass of a Gd-DTPA bolus through the mouse heart with a temporal resolution of 300–400 msec. The method was

  4. Immunologic analyses of mouse cystathionase in normal and leukemic cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bikel, I.; Faibes, D.; Uren, J.R.; Livingston, D.M.

    1978-01-01

    Rabbit antisera have been raised against mouse liver cystathionase and shown to possess enzyme neutralizing activity. Agar gel double immunodiffusion analyses demonstrated that both mouse liver cystathionase and rat liver cystathionase react with the antisera, the latter enzyme being completely cross-reactive with the former. Following radioiodination of the purified rat liver enzyme, a double antibody radioimmunoassay was developed in which greater than 90% of the labeled protein could be specifically precipitated with the anti-mouse cystathionase antibodies. In this test the purified rat liver and mouse liver enzymes were virtually indistinguishable, generating superimposable competition displacement curves on a protein mass basis. These results indicate that both enzymes are immunologically identical, thus validating the use of the rat in lieu of the murine liver enzyme as radiolabeled tracer in an assay for mouse cystathionase. In addition, competition radioimmunoassays demonstrated that the immunological reactivities of both the purified rat liver and mouse liver enzymes were equally heat sensitive. The sensitivity of the assay was determined to be 1 ng of enzyme protein/0.22 mL of assay mixture, and the assay could be used to detect the presence of enzyme protein in tissue homogenates of single mouse organs. Mouse or rat cross-reactivity with human liver cystathionase was incomplete; but, with the exception of heart and spleen, parallel radioimmunoassay competition displacement curves were obtained for cystathionase from different mouse organs including thymus. Extracts of 7-, 9-, and 10-month-old spontaneous AKR mouse thymomas were tested in the radioimmunoassay along with extracts of age-matched thymuses which were grossly tumor free. A reaction of nonidentity was observed for all of the tumor extracts while a reaction identical with that of the pure liver enzyme was found with all of the normal thymus extracts

  5. Isolation of intact and pure chloroplasts from leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana plants acclimated to low irradiance for studies on Rubisco regulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magda Grabsztunowicz

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available A protocol is presented for low-cost and fast isolation of intact and pure chloroplasts from leaves of plants acclimated to low irradiance. The protocol is based on a differential centrifugation of cleared leaf homogenate and omits a centrifugation on Percoll gradient step. The intactness and purity of the chloroplasts isolated from leaves of low irradiance-acclimated plants by using this protocol (confirmed by phase contrast microscopy as well as enzymatic and immunological approaches allows plausible studies on low irradiance-dependent Rubisco regulation.

  6. Mixed-mode reversed phase/positively charged repulsion chromatography for intact protein separation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Ling; Guo, Zhimou; Hu, Zhuo; Liang, Xinmiao

    2017-05-10

    A mixed-mode reversed phase/positively charged repulsion stationary phase C8PN composed of octyl and amino group has been developed for separation of intact protein. Before the separation of proteins, a set of probe compounds were employed to evaluate the chromatographic properties of C8PN, demonstrating typical reversed phase/positively charged repulsion interaction on this stationary phase as estimated. Then the new C8PN stationary phase was used to separate a standard protein mixture on the reversed phase mode. Compared with a commercial C4 stationary phase, it showed different selectivity for some proteins. In order to better understand the properties of C8PN, the effect of acetonitrile content was investigated based on retention equation. Higher values of the equation parameters on C8PN demonstrated that the protein retentions were more sensitive to the change of acetonitrile content. Besides, the influences of buffer salt additives on the protein retentions were also studied. The retention factors of the proteins got larger with the increase of buffer salt concentration, which confirmed the positively charged repulsion interaction on the column. Finally, the C8PN was further applied to separate oxidized- and reduced- forms of Recombinant Human Growth Hormone. Our study indicated the advantages and application potential of mixed-mode reversed phase/positively charged repulsion stationary phase for intact protein separation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Self-transcendence and nurse-patient interaction in cognitively intact nursing home patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haugan, Gørill; Rannestad, Toril; Hanssen, Brith; Espnes, Geir A

    2012-12-01

    The aim of this study was to test whether nurse-patient interaction affects cognitively intact nursing home patients' interpersonal and intrapersonal self-transcendence, as well as testing the psychometric properties of the Nurse-Patient Interaction Scale (NPIS). Self-transcendence is considered a spiritual developmental process of maturity in adulthood, and a vital resource of well-being at the end of life. The concept of self-transcendence has previously been explored in various populations, yet the nurse-patient interactions' potential influence on self-transcendence in nursing home patients has not been published previously. A cross-sectional design employing the Self-Transcendence Scale and the NPIS was adopted. A sample of 202 cognitively well-functioning nursing home patients in Norway was selected. The statistical analyses were carried out using lisrel 8.8 and structural equation modelling. Structural equation modelling-analysis indicates statistical significant effect of nurse-patient interaction on the patients' self-transcendence. Direct influence on the intrapersonal and indirect influence on the interpersonal self-transcendence aspects was disclosed. Nurse-patient interaction significantly affected both interpersonal and intrapersonal self-transcendence among cognitively intact nursing home patients. Hence, facilitating caring interventions can be significantly beneficial to older patients' self-transcendence and thereby well-being, both emotional and physical. Caring behaviour signifies the vital and ultimate qualitative nursing behaviour, which promotes self-transcendence and thereby well-being. These findings are important for clinical nursing that intends to increase patients' well-being. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  8. Effect of Duplicate Genes on Mouse Genetic Robustness: An Update

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhixi Su

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In contrast to S. cerevisiae and C. elegans, analyses based on the current knockout (KO mouse phenotypes led to the conclusion that duplicate genes had almost no role in mouse genetic robustness. It has been suggested that the bias of mouse KO database toward ancient duplicates may possibly cause this knockout duplicate puzzle, that is, a very similar proportion of essential genes (PE between duplicate genes and singletons. In this paper, we conducted an extensive and careful analysis for the mouse KO phenotype data and corroborated a strong effect of duplicate genes on mouse genetics robustness. Moreover, the effect of duplicate genes on mouse genetic robustness is duplication-age dependent, which holds after ruling out the potential confounding effect from coding-sequence conservation, protein-protein connectivity, functional bias, or the bias of duplicates generated by whole genome duplication (WGD. Our findings suggest that two factors, the sampling bias toward ancient duplicates and very ancient duplicates with a proportion of essential genes higher than that of singletons, have caused the mouse knockout duplicate puzzle; meanwhile, the effect of genetic buffering may be correlated with sequence conservation as well as protein-protein interactivity.

  9. Investigations on the role of hemoglobin in sulfide metabolism by intact human red blood cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bianco, Christopher L; Savitsky, Anton; Feelisch, Martin; Cortese-Krott, Miriam M

    2018-03-01

    In addition to their role as oxygen transporters, red blood cells (RBCs) contribute to cardiovascular homeostasis by regulating nitric oxide (NO) metabolism via interaction of hemoglobin (Hb) with nitrite and NO itself. RBCs were proposed to also participate in sulfide metabolism. Although Hb is known to react with sulfide, sulfide metabolism by intact RBCs has not been characterized so far. Therefore we explored the role of Hb in sulfide metabolism in intact human RBCs. We find that upon exposure of washed RBCs to sulfide, no changes in oxy/deoxyhemoglobin (oxy/deoxyHb) are observed by UV-vis and EPR spectroscopy. However, sulfide reacts with methemoglobin (metHb), forming a methemoglobin-sulfide (metHb-SH) complex. Moreover, while metHb-SH is stable in cell-free systems even in the presence of biologically relevant thiols, it gradually decomposes to produce oxyHb, inorganic polysulfides and thiosulfate in intact cells, as detected by EPR and mass spectrometry. Taken together, our results demonstrate that under physiological conditions RBCs are able to metabolize sulfide via intermediate formation of a metHb-SH complex, which subsequently decomposes to oxyHb. We speculate that decomposition of metHb-SH is preceded by an inner-sphere electron transfer, forming reduced Hb (which binds oxygen to form oxyHb) and thiyl radical (a process we here define as "reductive sulfhydration"), which upon release, gives rise to the oxidized products, thiosulfate and polysulfides. Thus, not only is metHb an efficient scavenger and regulator of sulfide in blood, intracellular sulfide itself may play a role in keeping Hb in the reduced oxygen-binding form and, therefore, be involved in RBC physiology and function. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. The effects of zonation of the pen and grouping in intact litters on use of pen, immune competence and health of pigs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damgaard, B.M.; Studnitz, M.; Nielsen, Jens

    2006-01-01

    The effects of pen design and group composition were examined with respect to activity, use of pen, floor conditions, health condition and immune competence for groups of 60 pigs. The experiment was designed with the two factors with zones/without zones and divided litters/intact litters....... The experiment included a total of 1440 pigs from weaning at the age of 4 weeks to the age of 18 weeks after weaning. In pens with zones, the selection of different areas for different activities was improved. Pens with zones were more dirty in the elimination and open areas than pens without zones. In pens...... with zones, the number of lymphocytes was decreased, the ability to respond to an additional challenge by a model infection was decreased and the number of neutrophils was increased in intact litters. In week 9, the health condition was better with a group composition consisting of intact litters compared...

  11. Cultures of preimplantation mouse embryos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Streffer, C.; Molls, M.

    1987-01-01

    In the preimplantation mouse embryos the chromosomal damage develops through several postradiation cell cycles and mitoses. New chromosome aberrations are seen during the second and third postradiation mitoses. Also, more micronuclei appear during later postradiation interphases. This is in agreement with the assumption that unrepaired chromosomal radiation damage develops during the cell generation cycle to such a form (i.e. double-strand breaks in DNA) that chromosomal breaks occur. This proposition is strengthened by the observation that radiation-induced damage is more rapidly expressed after neutron exposure (first or second postradiation mitosis) than after exposure to X rays at the one- or two-cell stage. The preimplantation mouse embryo culture is an inviting system for additional studies at the molecular level, especially now that within the last few years more sensitive methods have been developed for study of DNA and protein structure, regulation, and synthesis. The results from these studies of cultures of preimplantation mouse embryos present a favorable case for the study of complex biological systems under very defined conditions in vitro for extrapolation to effects in vivo

  12. Feasibility in multispectral imaging for predicting the content of bioactive compounds in intact tomato fruit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Changhong; Liu, Wei; Chen, Wei; Yang, Jianbo; Zheng, Lei

    2015-04-15

    Tomato is an important health-stimulating fruit because of the antioxidant properties of its main bioactive compounds, dominantly lycopene and phenolic compounds. Nowadays, product differentiation in the fruit market requires an accurate evaluation of these value-added compounds. An experiment was conducted to simultaneously and non-destructively measure lycopene and phenolic compounds content in intact tomatoes using multispectral imaging combined with chemometric methods. Partial least squares (PLS), least squares-support vector machines (LS-SVM) and back propagation neural network (BPNN) were applied to develop quantitative models. Compared with PLS and LS-SVM, BPNN model considerably improved the performance with coefficient of determination in prediction (RP(2))=0.938 and 0.965, residual predictive deviation (RPD)=4.590 and 9.335 for lycopene and total phenolics content prediction, respectively. It is concluded that multispectral imaging is an attractive alternative to the standard methods for determination of bioactive compounds content in intact tomatoes, providing a useful platform for infield fruit sorting/grading. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Localization and regulation of mouse pantothenate kinase 2 [The PanK2 Genes of Mouse and Human Specify Proteins with Distinct Subcellular Locations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leonardi, Roberta [St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN (United States); Zhang, Yong-Mei [St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN (United States); Lykidis, Athanasios [DOE Joint Genome Inst., Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Rock, Charles O. [St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN (United States); Jackowski, Suzanne [St. Jude Children' s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN (United States)

    2007-09-07

    Coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis is initiated by pantothenatekinase (PanK) and CoA levels are controlled through differentialexpression and feedback regulation of PanK isoforms. PanK2 is amitochondrial protein in humans, but comparative genomics revealed thatacquisition of a mitochondrial targeting signal was limited to primates.Human and mouse PanK2 possessed similar biochemical properties, withinhibition by acetylCoA and activation by palmitoylcarnitine. Mouse PanK2localized in the cytosol, and the expression of PanK2 was higher in humanbrain compared to mouse brain. Differences in expression and subcellularlocalization should be considered in developing a mouse model for humanPanK2 deficiency.

  14. Interactions of mouse pinworms and trichomonads

    OpenAIRE

    Choutková, Jana

    2012-01-01

    Oxyurid nematodes Aspiculuris tetraptera and Syphacia obvelata are both common mouse intestinal parasites; in the same location several species of trichomonads occur. Tritrichomonas muris is the most often found, but there are also some others: Tritrichomonas minuta, Pentatrichomonas hominis or Hexamastix muris. It is known that, under some circumstances, trichomonads can be found in the intestine of mouse pinworms, as reported by Theiler and Farber (1936) for T. muris in A. tetraptera and S....

  15. Synaptic Remodeling Generates Synchronous Oscillations in the Degenerated Outer Mouse Retina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wadood eHaq

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available During neuronal degenerative diseases, neuronal microcircuits undergo severe structural alterations, leading to remodeling of synaptic connectivity. The functional consequences of such remodeling are mostly unknown. For instance, in mutant rd1 mouse retina, a common model for Retinitis Pigmentosa, rod bipolar cells (RBCs establish contacts with remnant cone photoreceptors (cones as a consequence of rod photoreceptor cell death and the resulting lack of presynaptic input. To assess the functional connectivity in the remodeled, light-insensitive outer rd1 retina, we recorded spontaneous population activity in retinal wholemounts using Ca2+ imaging and identified the participating cell types. Focusing on cones, RBCs and horizontal cells (HCs, we found that these cell types display spontaneous oscillatory activity and form synchronously active clusters. Overall activity was modulated by GABAergic inhibition from HCs. Many of the activity clusters comprised both cones and RBCs. Opposite to what is expected from the intact (wild-type cone-ON bipolar cell pathway, cone and RBC activity was positively correlated and, at least partially, mediated by glutamate transporters expressed on RBCs. Deletion of gap junctional coupling between cones reduced the number of clusters, indicating that electrical cone coupling plays a crucial role for generating the observed synchronized oscillations. In conclusion, degeneration-induced synaptic remodeling of the rd1 retina results in a complex self-sustained outer retinal oscillatory network, that complements (and potentially modulates the recently described inner retinal oscillatory network consisting of amacrine, bipolar and ganglion cells.

  16. Viable acrosome-intact human spermatozoa in the ejaculate as a marker of semen quality and fertility status

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Egeberg Palme, Dorte Louise; Rehfeld, Anders; Bang, Anne Kirstine

    2018-01-01

    STUDY QUESTION: Is it possible, in an unbiased and clinical relevant way, to determine the number of viable acrosome-intact human spermatozoa in ejaculates and to use this as a measure of fertility chances? SUMMARY ANSWER: Image cytometry enables easy and unbiased quantification of viable acrosome......-intact spermatozoa and it correlates with semen quality and fertility status. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: The presence of the acrosome and its ability to respond to physiological inducers (e.g. progesterone) in the female reproductive tract at the appropriate time and place is required for fertilization. However......, the available assays are labor intensive and therefore not used clinically. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: Washed semen samples and capacitated swim-up fractions from volunteers were used to develop the assay. Subsequently washed ejaculates from patients in fertility treatment (n = 156), proven fertile men (n...

  17. In vitro comparison of human fibroblasts from intact and ruptured ACL for use in tissue engineering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T Brune

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available The present study compares fibroblasts extracted from intact and ruptured human anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL for creation of a tissue engineered ACL-construct, made of porcine small intestinal submucosal extracellular matrix (SIS-ECM seeded with these ACL cells. The comparison is based on histological, immunohistochemical and RT-PCR analyses. Differences were observed between cells in a ruptured ACL (rACL and cells in an intact ACL (iACL, particularly with regard to the expression of integrin subunits and smooth muscle actin (SMA. Despite these differences in the cell source, both cell populations behaved similarly when seeded on an SIS-ECM scaffold, with similar cell morphology, connective tissue organization and composition, SMA and integrin expression. This study shows the usefulness of naturally occurring scaffolds such as SIS-ECM for the study of cell behaviour in vitro, and illustrates the possibility to use autologous cells extracted from ruptured ACL biopsies as a source for tissue engineered ACL constructs.

  18. Accesion number Protein name ENOA_MOUSE Alpha-enolase ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Sandra Feijoo Bandin

    Mitochondrial inner membrane protein. CMC1_MOUSE. Calcium-binding mitochondrial carrier protein Aralar1. CMC2_MOUSE. Calcium-binding mitochondrial carrier protein Aralar2. Biological process. Metabolic process. Glycolysis. Lipid metabolism. Respiratory electron transport chain. Others. Calcium ion homeostasis.

  19. Characterization and mapping of the mouse NDP (Norrie disease) locus (Ndp).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battinelli, E M; Boyd, Y; Craig, I W; Breakefield, X O; Chen, Z Y

    1996-02-01

    Norrie disease is a severe X-linked recessive neurological disorder characterized by congenital blindness with progressive loss of hearing. Over half of Norrie patients also manifest different degrees of mental retardation. The gene for Norrie disease (NDP) has recently been cloned and characterized. With the human NDP cDNA, mouse genomic phage libraries were screened for the homolog of the gene. Comparison between mouse and human genomic DNA blots hybridized with the NDP cDNA, as well as analysis of phage clones, shows that the mouse NDP gene is 29 kb in size (28 kb for the human gene). The organization in the two species is very similar. Both have three exons with similar-sized introns and identical exon-intron boundaries between exon 2 and 3. The mouse open reading frame is 393 bp and, like the human coding sequence, is encoded in exons 2 and 3. The absence of six nucleotides in the second mouse exon results in the encoded protein being two amino acids smaller than its human counterpart. The overall homology between the human and mouse NDP protein is 95% and is particularly high (99%) in exon 3, consistent with the apparent functional importance of this region. Analysis of transcription initiation sites suggests the presence of multiple start sites associated with expression of the mouse NDP gene. Pedigree analysis of an interspecific mouse backcross localizes the mouse NDP gene close to Maoa in the conserved segment, which runs from CYBB to PFC in both human and mouse.

  20. Rats and mice immunised with chimeric human/mouse proteinase 3 produce autoantibodies to mouse Pr3 and rat granulocytes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Geld, Ymke M.; Hellmark, Thomas; Selga, Daina; Heeringa, Peter; Huitema, Minke G.; Limburg, Pieter C.; Kallenberg, Cees G. M.

    2007-01-01

    Aim: In this study, we employed chimeric human/ mouse Proteinase 3 ( PR3) proteins as tools to induce an autoantibody response to PR3 in rats and mice. Method: Rats and mice were immunised with recombinant human PR3 ( HPR3), recombinant murine PR3 ( mPR3), single chimeric human/ mouse PR3 ( HHm,