Search results for "Knockout"

Wip1 inhibition leads to severe pro-inflammatory phenotype in skin in response to chemical irritation

2016

Suppression of inflammation by low-dose methotrexate is mediated by adenosine A2A receptor but not A3 receptor activation in thioglycollate-induced p…

2005

Prior studies demonstrate that adenosine, acting at one or more of its receptors, mediates the anti-inflammatory effects of methotrexate in animal models of both acute and chronic inflammation. Both adenosine A2A and A3 receptors contribute to the anti-inflammatory effects of methotrexate treatment in the air pouch model of inflammation, and the regulation of inflammation by these two receptors differs at the cellular level. Because different factors may regulate inflammation at different sites we examined the effect of low-dose weekly methotrexate treatment (0.75 mg/kg/week) in a model of acute peritoneal inflammation in adenosine A2A receptor knockout mice and A3 receptor knockout mice an…

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) knockout mice. Implications for lymphopoiesis and organ-specific immunity.

1998

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is produced by both immune and non-immune cells including stromal cell lines, B-cells, monocytes/macrophages, follicular dendritic cells, keratinocytes, and gut epithelial cells. The development of IL-7 knockout mice aided to elucidate the role of this multifaceted cytokine in lymphopoiesis. Additionally, IL-7 gene-deleted mice may represent an excellent model in order to define the functional role of locally secreted IL-7 in organ-specific immunity and in anti-microbial responses as well. For instance, analysis of IL-7 gene-deleted mice revealed reduced numbers of total T-lymphocytes with preservation of the CD4/CD8 ratio and increased ratio of alpha beta + T-cells com…

ITCH E3 ubiquitin ligase downregulation compromises hepatic degradation of branched-chain amino acids

2022

Objective: Metabolic syndrome, obesity, and steatosis are characterized by a range of dysregulations including defects in ubiquitin ligase tagging proteins for degradation. The identification of novel hepatic genes associated with fatty liver disease and metabolic dysregulation may be relevant to unravelling new mechanisms involved in liver disease progression Methods: Through integrative analysis of liver transcriptomic and metabolomic obtained from obese subjects with steatosis, we identified itchy E ubiquitin protein ligase (ITCH) as a gene downregulated in human hepatic tissue in relation to steatosis grade. Wild-type or ITCH knockout mouse models of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (N…

PTEN Deletion in Adult Mice Induces Hypoinsulinemia With Concomitant Low Glucose Levels

2022

The PI3K/AKT pathway, negatively regulated by PTEN, plays a paramount role in glucose metabolism regulation due to its activation by the insulin receptor signaling pathway. We generated a PTEN-KO mouse to evaluate the systemic effect of the overactivation of the PI3K/AKT pathway in insulin signaling and glucose homeostasis. Our results demonstrate that PTEN-KO mice show very low glucose levels in the fasted state, which poorly respond to glucose and pyruvate administration. Insulinemia decreased without alterations in pancreatic islets. Among the possible reasons, we uncover the deregulation of the expression of proximal tubule glucose transporter and consequent glycosuria. Moreover, we evi…

β-Catenin in dendritic cells exerts opposite functions in cross-priming and maintenance of CD8+ T cells through regulation of IL-10

2015

Recent studies have demonstrated that β-catenin in DCs serves as a key mediator in promoting both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cell tolerance, although how β-catenin exerts its functions remains incompletely understood. Here we report that activation of β-catenin in DCs inhibits cross-priming of CD8(+) T cells by up-regulating mTOR-dependent IL-10, suggesting blocking β-catenin/mTOR/IL-10 signaling as a viable approach to augment CD8(+) T-cell immunity. However, vaccination of DC-β-catenin(-/-) (CD11c-specific deletion of β-catenin) mice surprisingly failed to protect them against tumor challenge. Further studies revealed that DC-β-catenin(-/-) mice were deficient in generating CD8(+) T-cell immunit…

Identification of novel peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) target genes in mouse liver using cDNA microarray analysis.

2001

Peroxisome proliferators, which function as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARalpha) agonists, are a group of structurally diverse nongenotoxic hepatocarcinogens including the fibrate class of hypolipidemic drugs that induce peroxisome proliferation in liver parenchymal cells. Sustained activation of PPARalpha by these agents leads to the development of liver tumors in rats and mice. To understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for the pleiotropic effects of these agents, we have utilized the cDNA microarray to generate a molecular portrait of gene expression in the liver of mice treated for 2 weeks with Wy-14,643, a potent peroxisome proliferator. PPARalpha activa…

Detection of behavioral alterations and learning deficits in mice lacking synaptophysin.

2009

The integral membrane protein synaptophysin is one of the most abundant polypeptide components of synaptic vesicles. It is not essential for neurotransmission despite its abundance but is believed to modulate the efficiency of the synaptic vesicle cycle. Detailed behavioral analyses were therefore performed on synaptophysin knockout mice to test whether synaptophysin affects higher brain functions. We find that these animals are more exploratory than their wild type counterparts examining novel objects more closely and intensely in an enriched open field arena. We also detect impairments in learning and memory, most notably reduced object novelty recognition and reduced spatial learning. Th…

MicroRNAs, the immune system and rheumatic disease.

2008

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatic disease and are, therefore, a potential target for drug development. This Review describes the well-established roles of miRNAs in hematopoiesis and the immune response, the molecular action of miRNAs in the simultaneous post-transcriptional regulation of multiple targets, and the evidence for roles of specific miRNAs in rheumatic disease. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNA molecules that modulate the expression of multiple target genes at the post-transcriptional level and are implicated in a wide array of cellular and developmental processes. In hematopoietic cells, miRNA levels are dynamically regulated duri…

Manganese superoxide dismutase and aldehyde dehydrogenase deficiency increase mitochondrial oxidative stress and aggravate age-dependent vascular dys…

2008

AimsImbalance between pro- and antioxidant species (e.g. during aging) plays a crucial role for vascular function and is associated with oxidative gene regulation and modification. Vascular aging is associated with progressive deterioration of vascular homeostasis leading to reduced relaxation, hypertrophy, and a higher risk of thrombotic events. These effects can be explained by a reduction in free bioavailable nitric oxide that is inactivated by an age-dependent increase in superoxide formation. In the present study, mitochondria as a source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the contribution of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD, SOD-2) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH-2) were inves…