Heritable L1 retrotransposition in the mouse primordial germline and early embryo.

LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposons are a noted source of genetic diversity and disease in mammals. To expand its genomic footprint, L1 must mobilize in cells that will contribute their genetic material to subsequent generations. Heritable L1 insertions may therefore arise in germ cells and in pluripotent embryonic cells, prior to germline specification, yet the frequency and predominant developmental timing of such events remain unclear.

Reelin and CXCL12 regulate distinct migratory behaviors during the development of the dopaminergic system.

The proper functioning of the dopaminergic system requires the coordinated formation of projections extending from dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN), ventral tegmental area (VTA) and retrorubral field to a wide array of forebrain targets including the striatum, nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex. The mechanisms controlling the assembly of these distinct dopaminergic cell clusters are not well understood. Here, we have investigated in detail the migratory behavior of dopaminergic neurons giving rise to either the SN or the medial VTA using genetic inducible fate mapping, ultramicroscopy, time-lapse imaging, slice culture and analysis of mouse mutants.

Organotypic slice cultures of embryonic ventral midbrain: a system to study dopaminergic neuronal development in vitro.

The mouse is an excellent model organism to study mammalian brain development due to the abundance of molecular and genetic data. However, the developing mouse brain is not suitable for easy manipulation and imaging in vivo since the mouse embryo is inaccessible and opaque. Organotypic slice cultures of embryonic brains are therefore widely used to study murine brain development in vitro.

Adapted response of the antioxidant defense system to oxidative stress induced by deoxynivalenol in Hek-293 cells.

The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON), a contaminant of certain foods and feeds, is cytotoxic and genotoxic to mammalians cells. Exposure of human embryonic kidney (Hek-293) cells to DON led to a dose- and time-dependent decrease in cell viability, with an IC(50) about 7.6 μM.