Mechanisms of Fibril Formation and Cellular Response
Martha Skinner, John L. Berk, Lawreen H. Connors, David C. Seldin in XIth International Symposium on Amyloidosis, 2007
Forty-five adult male Dark Agouti (DA) rats, between 160 and 245 g, were divided into two groups. The rats in the first group (n=20) received tacrolimus at a dose of 1mg/kg/day i.m. in the leg, with each dose being injected in the alternate leg for a period of four weeks. Rats in the second group (n=20) received cyclosporine at a dose of 3mg/kg/day i.m in the same fashion as the previous group. For both groups, the rats used at the 0 time point were the same (n=5). All rats were exsanguinated by bleeding at four time points: 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. After the rats were killed, blood and liver tissue samples were obtained. Measurement of whole-blood tacrolimus and cyclosporine concentrations (trough levels), serum analysis, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and statistical analysis were performed as described previously (3).
Gene Targeting Models of Epilepsy: Technical and Analytical Considerations
Steven L. Peterson, Timothy E. Albertson in Neuropharmacology Methods in Epilepsy Research, 2019
As mentioned previously, inspection of the coat of chimeric mice is often used to estimate the extent of the ES cell contribution to the animal. Although there does appear to be a rough correlation between ES cell coat contribution and likelihood of germ line transmission, an animal whose coat is greater than 95% ES cell derived is not guaranteed to be germ line competent. Conversely, there are anecdotal reports of germ line transmission from chimeras that have an ES cell coat contribution of less than 10%. Because most ES cell lines in common use are male (XY), a sex conversion phenomenon may occur, so that the number of male chimeras exceeds that of females. Commonly, chimeras derived from agouti strain 129 ES cells are bred with C57BL/6 mice. Because the agouti allele is dominant, germ line transmission of 129 genetic material is indicated by pups with agouti coats. Such animals have a 50% likelihood of bearing one copy of the targeted allele. The percentage of agouti pups varies widely among chimeras. Typically, genomic DNA is prepared from tail biopsies of these animals, and genotyping is performed by PCR or Southern blot analysis. Heterozygous mutant mice are then crossed to produce homozygous mutant animals that completely lack the normal gene product.
Important biological features
Donna J. Clemons, Jennifer L. Seeman in The Laboratory GUINEA PIG, 2016
Coat color is determined by the genotype at six main and several minor coat-color loci. The agouti locus produces the black coat color in the non-agouti mutant. The brown locus controls alteration from black to brown in the brown mutant. Four alleles are known for the albino locus, resulting in various degrees of dilution in coat and eye color. The laboratory albino guinea pig has the most extreme albino allele in addition to other dilution factors, resulting in an animal that has no pigment except on the ears. Three alleles at the extension locus are responsible for tortoise-shell coat patterns (partial extension) or yellow coat-color mutants (mutant e). The pink-eye locus also has three alleles; the pink-eye mutant causes dilution in both the retina and the coat. A white-spotting locus is responsible for the recessive white-spotting characteristic. Expression is determined by environmental and other genetic factors, and may result in an animal with a few white hairs to a nearly completely white animal.5
Dietary macronutrient composition affects hypothalamic appetite regulation in chicks
Published in Nutritional Neuroscience, 2018
Betty R. McConn, Justin Matias, Guoqing Wang, Mark A. Cline, Elizabeth R. Gilbert
Expression profiles of orexigenic and anorexigenic neuropeptides and associated receptors in the hypothalamus are summarized in Table 3. There were main effects of diet on mRNA abundance of agouti-related peptide (AgRP), NPY, NPY receptor sub-types 1, 2, and 5 (NPYR1, 2, and 5, respectively), melanocortin receptors 3 and 4 (MC3R and 4R, respectively), mesotocin (MT), corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), and CRF receptor sub-types 1 and 2 (CRFR1 and CRFR2, respectively). Expression of AgRP and MT was greater in basal and high-protein diet-fed chicks than in high-fat diet-fed chicks. Neuropeptide Y, NPYR2, and CRF mRNA were greater in basal and high-fat diet-fed chicks than in chicks that consumed the high-protein diet. Abundance of NPYR1 mRNA was greater in chicks that consumed the basal than high-fat diet. Expression of NPYR5 and MC4R mRNA was greater in basal diet-fed chicks than in chicks that consumed either of the other two diets. MC3R was expressed more in the hypothalamus of high-protein than high-fat diet-fed chicks, while CRFR1 was more highly expressed in chicks that consumed the basal than high-protein diet. Expression of CRFR2 was greatest in chicks fed the high-protein diet, lowest in chicks fed the basal diet, and intermediate in the chicks that consumed the high-fat diet.
Dietary macronutrient composition and central neuropeptide Y injection affect dietary preference and hypothalamic gene expression in chicks
Published in Nutritional Neuroscience, 2018
Betty R. McConn, Mark A. Cline, Elizabeth R. Gilbert
Agouti-related peptide in layers87 and NPY in broilers4 exert orexigenic effects and are co-expressed in the ARC of mammals.88 Although AgRP may not play as much of a role in food intake in broiler compared to layer-type chicks87 and rodents, the combined greater hypothalamic expression of NPY, AgRP, and NPYR2 mRNAs may have contributed to the shorter feeding response to NPY observed in chicks that consumed the HP diet. Activation of NPYR2 increased food intake in chickens.89 Given that food intake was similar,18 it is peculiar to note that expression of genes encoding orexigenic factors associated with NPY/AgRP neurons was greater in HP than HC diet-fed chicks. In a previous study (30% CP for HP diet and 60% ME from lard in HF diet), hypothalamic NPY and AgRP mRNAs were greater in chicks that consumed the HF compared to the HC diet.72
The ultrastructure of muscle fibers and satellite cells in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis after treatment with transcranial magnetic stimulation
Published in Ultrastructural Pathology, 2022
María Angeles Peña-Toledo, Evelio Luque, Manuel LaTorre, Ignacio Jimena, Fernando Leiva-Cepas, Ignacio Ruz-Caracuel, Eduardo Agüera, J. Peña-Amaro, Isaac Tunez
In this study, we used 28 eight-week-old adult male Dark Agouti rats (Janvier Labs, France). The rats were housed in temperature-controlled boxes (24°C) with a light–dark cycle of 12–12 hours with food and water available ad libitum (Purina VR, Spain). All the procedures described in this study were approved by the Bioethics Committee of the University of Córdoba (reference number 30/03/2017/053) in accordance with the Directive of November 24, 1986 (86/609/ECC) and were approved by the Council of the European Communities and Royal Decree 53/2013 and by the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers of Spain (BOE, February 8, 2013). The study included the following groups, each comprising seven rats:
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