A Zebrafish Mutant in the Extracellular Matrix Protein Gene as a Model for Spinal Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative articular disease affecting mainly aging animals and people. The extracellular matrix protein Efemp1 was previously shown to have higher turn-over and increased secretion in the blood serum, urine, and subchondral bone of knee joints in osteoarthritic patients. Here, we use the zebrafish as a model system to investigate the function of Efemp1 in vertebrate skeletal development and homeostasis.

Exercise against cocaine sensitization in mice: a [F]fallypride micro-PET study.

Wheel-running exercise in laboratory rodents (animal model useful to study the neurobiology of aerobic exercise) decreases behavioural markers of vulnerability to addictive properties of various drugs of abuse including cocaine. However, neurobiological mechanisms underpinning this protective effect are far from fully characterized. Here, 28-day-old female C57BL/6J mice were housed with ( = 48) or without ( = 48) a running wheel for 6 weeks before being tested for acute locomotor responsiveness and initiation of locomotor sensitization to intraperitoneal injections of 8 mg/kg cocaine.

Tumor Microenvironment Modifications Recorded With IVIM Perfusion Analysis and DCE-MRI After Neoadjuvant Radiotherapy: A Preclinical Study.

Purpose: Neoadjuvant radiotherapy (NeoRT) improves tumor local control and facilitates tumor resection in many cancers. Some clinical studies demonstrated that both timing of surgery and RT schedule influence tumor dissemination, and subsequently patient overall survival. Previously, we developed a pre-clinical model demonstrating the impact of NeoRT schedule and timing of surgery on metastatic spreading.