Search results for "MICE"
showing 10 items of 6027 documents
α-Synuclein expression levels do not significantly affect proteasome function and expression in mice and stably transfected PC12 cell lines
2004
α-Synuclein (α-syn) is a small protein of unknown function that is found aggregated in Lewy bodies, the histopathological hallmark of sporadic Parkinson disease and other synucleinopathies. Mutations in the α-syn gene and a triplication of its gene locus have been identified in early onset familial Parkinson disease. α-Syn turnover can be mediated by the proteasome pathway. A survey of published data may lead to the suggestion that overexpression of α-syn wild type, and/or their variants (A53T and A30P), may produce a decrease in proteasome activity and function, contributing to α-syn aggregation. To investigate the relationship between synuclein expression and proteasome function we have s…
Transcutaneous immunization with imiquimod is amplified by CD40 ligation and results in sustained cytotoxic T-lymphocyte activation and tumor protect…
1999
Transcutaneous immunization (TCI) using ligands of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes lead to the induction of potent T-cell responses. To characterize the efficacy of TCI-mediated CTL activation, we monitored the frequency and functional activity of specific CTL induced with TCI using the ovalbumin-derived epitope SIINFEKL composed in creme containing the synthetic TLR7 ligand R-837. We found that the frequency and activity decayed rapidly 10 d post-TCI. Consistently, no significant memory T-cell formation was detectable. In a prophylactic vaccination setting, TCI was protective against a lethal challenge with ovalbumin expressing EG.7 thymoma cells when t…
Prostaglandin E(2)-loaded microspheres as strategy to inhibit phagocytosis and modulate inflammatory mediators release.
2008
PGE(2), an arachidonic acid metabolite produced by various type of cells regulates a broad range of physiological activities in the endocrine, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and immune systems, and is involved in maintaining the local homeostasis. In the immune system, PGE(2) is mainly produced by APCs and it can suppress the Th1-mediated immune responses. The aim of this study was to develop PGE(2)-loaded biodegradable MS that prolong and sustain the in vivo release of this mediator. An o/w emulsion solvent extraction-evaporation method was chosen to prepare the MS. We determined their diameters, evaluated the in vitro release of PGE(2), using enzyme immunoassay and MS uptake by periton…
Inhibitors of apoptosis confer resistance to tumour suppression by adoptively transplanted cytotoxic T-lymphocytes in vitro and in vivo
2005
Deregulation of apoptosis signalling is commonly found in cancer and results in resistance to cytotoxic therapies. Immunotherapy is a promising strategy to eliminate resistant cancer cells. The transfer of T-lymphocytes during allogeneic stem cell transplantation is clinically explored to induce a 'graft-versus-tumor' effect (GvT). Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL), which are major effectors of GvT, eliminate cancer cells by inducing apoptosis via multiple parallel pathways. Here, we study in vitro and in vivo the susceptibility of murine cancer cells engineered to express single antiapoptotic genes to CTL-mediated cytotoxicity. Interestingly, we find that single inhibitors of caspase activatio…
D2R striatopallidal neurons inhibit both locomotor and drug reward processes.
2009
The specific functions of dopamine D(2) receptor-positive (D(2)R) striatopallidal neurons remain poorly understood. Using a genetic mouse model, we found that ablation of D(2)R neurons in the entire striatum induced hyperlocomotion, whereas ablation in the ventral striatum increased amphetamine conditioned place preference. Thus D(2)R striatopallidal neurons limit both locomotion and, unexpectedly, drug reinforcement.
Asymptomatic vaginal herpes simplex virus infections in mice: virology and pathohistology
1996
One of the causes of genital tract infections in humans are herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2). Although primary and recurrent infections can be clinically apparent and in part very serious, many infections are asymptomatic and result only in temporary genital shedding of virus (recurrences). During our investigations of vaginitis, strain IES of HSV-1 produced an asymptomatic infection. Replication in the murine vaginal (vag.) epithelium as well as antibody formation after vag. infection was comparable to those of survivors after infection with highly virulent strains. Titration of liver, spleen, ovaries, adrenal glands spinal cord, or brain after vag. IES infection revealed …
Recombinant mussel protein Pvfp5β enhances cell adhesion of poly(vinyl alcohol)/k-carrageenan hydrogel scaffolds
2022
Polymeric hydrogels are increasingly considered as scaffolds for tissue engineering due to their extraordinary resemblance with the extracellular matrix (ECM) of many tissues. As cell adhesion is a key factor in regulating important cell functions, hydrogel scaffolds are often functionalized or loaded with a variety of bioactive molecules that can promote adhesion. Interesting biomimetic approaches exploit the properties of mussel-inspired recombinant adhesive proteins. In this work, we prepared hydrogel scaffolds with a 50%w mixture of k-carrageenan (kC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), by a two-step physical gelation process, and we coated them with Perna viridis foot protein-5 beta (Pvfp5 be…
Validation of a method to measure total spontaneous physical activity of sedentary and voluntary running mice
2014
Running wheels are commonly used to stimulate physical activity of mice. To control the effects of physical activity on study results, it is important to measure the total activity (all movements) of both sedentary and running wheel stimulated mice.Because there was a lack of a validated system, we built a force-plate based system specifically for this purpose. The validity of the system and its variables (activity index, activity time and distance) were tested in calibration measurements and in situ by measuring the activity of eight mice both with and without running wheels. Four mice served as sedentary controls. Activity index adds changes in vertical reaction forces induced by moving m…
The stable repression of mesenchymal program is required for hepatocyte identity: A novel role for hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α
2011
The concept that cellular terminal differentiation is stably maintained once development is complete has been questioned by numerous observations showing that differentiated epithelium may undergo an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) program. EMT and the reverse process, mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET), are typical events of development, tissue repair, and tumor progression. In this study, we aimed to clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying these phenotypic conversions in hepatocytes. Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) was overexpressed in different hepatocyte cell lines and the resulting gene expression profile was determined by real-time quantitative polymerase…
Cloning and expression of a type IX-like collagen in tissues of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis
2002
Collagens are highly preserved proteins in invertebrates and vertebrates. To identify the collagens in urochordates, the total RNA extracted from the pharynx of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis was hybridized with a heterologous probe specific for the echinoderm Paracentrotus lividus fibrillar type I-like larval collagen. Using this probe, two main bands (i.e. 6 and 2.8 kb mRNA) were observed on Northern blot hybridization. The cDNA library prepared from poly(A)+RNA extracted from pharyngeal tissue was screened and a cDNA that specifies a type IX-like collagen was identified. This molecule presents a conceptual open reading frame for a protein containing 734 amino acids. In particular, we sh…