Corrections for mRNA extraction and sample normalization errors find increased mRNA levels may compensate for cancer haplo-insufficiency.

The relative mRNA levels of differentially expressed (DE) and housekeeping (HK) genes of six aneuploid cancer lines with large-scale genomic changes identified by SNP/SKY analysis were compared with similar genes in diploid cells. The aneuploid cancer lines had heterogeneous genomic landscapes with subdiploid, diploid, and supradiploid regions and higher overall gene copy numbers compared with diploid cells. The mRNA levels of the haploid, diploid, and triploid HK genes were found to be higher after correction of easily identifiable mRNA measurement errors.

Neointimal hyperplasia and vasoreactivity are controlled by genetic elements on rat chromosome 3.

Neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) can lead to restenosis after clinical vascular interventions. NIH results from complex and poorly understood interactions between signaling cascades in the extracellular matrix and the disrupted endothelium, which lead to vessel occlusion. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were reported previously on rat chromosomes 3 and 6 through linkage analysis of postinjury NIH in midiliac arterial sections.

Congenic strains confirm aerobic running capacity quantitative trait loci on rat chromosome 16 and identify possible intermediate phenotypes.

We previously identified two inbred rat strains divergent for treadmill aerobic running capacity (ARC), the low-performing Copenhagen (COP) and the high-performing DA rats, and used an F(2)(COPxDA) population to identify ARC quantitative trait loci (QTLs) on rat chromosome 16 (RNO16) and the proximal portion of rat chromosome 3 (RNO3). Two congenic rat strains were bred to further investigate these ARC QTLs by introgressing RNO16 and the proximal portion of RNO3 from DA rats into the genetic background of COP rats and were named COP.DA(chr 16) and COP.

Linkage analysis of neointimal hyperplasia and vascular wall transformation after balloon angioplasty.

Neointimal hyperplasia (NIH), a result of vascular injury, is due to the migration and proliferation of smooth muscle cells through the media and internal elastic lamina leading to vascular occlusion. We used a rat model to find the genetic regions controlling NIH after endothelial denudation in two divergent inbred strains of rats. The Brown Norway (BN) and spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) strains have a 2.

Use of intraoperative ultrasound in excision of multiple schwannomas of the thigh.

Schwannomatosis is a rare neoplastic condition of unclear etiology characterized by multiple schwannomas in the absence of other manifestations of neurofibromatosis. In very rare cases, these tumors develop in an isolated region of the body. Complete removal of these tumors presents a surgical challenge because they are often small and difficult to locate.

Chromosomal variations within aneuploid cancer lines.

Aneuploid cancers exhibit a wide spectrum of clinical aggressiveness, possibly because of varying chromosome compositions. To test this, karyotypes from the diploid CCD-34Lu fibroblast and the aneuploid A549 and SUIT-2 cancer lines underwent fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and DAPI counterstaining. The number of DAPI-stained and FISH-identified chromosomes, 1-22, X,Y, as well as structural abnormalities, were counted and compared using the chi(2), Mann-Whitney rank sum test and the Levene's equality of variance.