Lupus manifestations in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice and in human/mouse radiation chimeras.

The objective of this study was to develop a human lupus model. To this end we have established and compared two models: (1) severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice reconstituted with peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of either systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients or healthy controls and (2) lethally irradiated BALB/c mice radioprotected with bone marrow of SCID mice, to which human PBL were transferred (human/mouse chimera). Engraftment was successful in most (78.

Regulation of endothelin-1 expression in the bovine corpus luteum: elevation by prostaglandin F 2 alpha.

Prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) has been recognized as the physiological luteolysin in ruminants and other species for more than three decades; however, the mechanisms involved in its action are poorly understood. We previously have shown that endothelin-1 (ET-1) mediates, at least in part, the action of PGF2alpha, and the current study examines the effect of PGF2alpha on the expression of ET-1 in bovine corpus luteum (CL). Endothelins (ETs) were extracted from CL, collected at various times of the estrous cycle, and highest levels were found during luteolysis.