Targeted knockout of BRG1 potentiates lung cancer development.

Brahma-related gene 1 (BRG1) is a catalytic subunit of the switch in mating type/sucrose nonfermentation complex and plays an important role in cancer development. Mouse homozygous knockout experiments testing the role of BRG1 in tumorigenesis have been hampered because BRG1 inactivation is embryonic lethal. To bypass this constraint, we developed a lung-specific conditional knockout of BRG1 and examined the effect of BRG1 inactivation in an ethyl carbamate lung carcinogenesis mouse model.

Effects of gradual coronary artery occlusion and exercise training on gene expression in swine heart.

Gradual occlusion (O) of the swine left circumflex coronary artery (LCX) with an ameroid occluder results in complete O within 3 weeks, collateral vessel development, and compensatory hypertrophy. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the independent and combined effects of O and exercise training (E) on gene expression in the swine heart. Adult Yucatan miniature swine were assigned to one of the following groups (n=6-9/group): sedentary control (S), exercise-trained (E), sedentary swine subjected to LCX occlusion (SO), and exercise-trained swine with LCX occlusion (EO).

3-HMG-Coenzyme A reductase inhibition and extracellular matrix gene expression in the pressure-overloaded rat heart.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether 3-HMG-Coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibition would attenuate the early pressure overload-induced activation of extracellular matrix genes in the left ventricle (LV) of the heart. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to 1 of 4 treatment groups: sham-operation+vehicle (SH-V), aortic constriction+vehicle (AC-V), AC+rosuvastatin (RSV, 2 mg/kg; AC-LO), and AC+RSV (10 mg/kg; AC-HI). Rats were injected with normal NaCl (V) or RSV once daily, beginning 1 day before surgery, and killed 1 or 3 days after surgery.

The mTOR/p70S6K signal transduction pathway plays a role in cardiac hypertrophy and influences expression of myosin heavy chain genes in vivo.

Objective: Rapamycin inhibits p70 S6 kinase (p70(S6K)) activity and hypertrophy of cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocytes. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether rapamycin inhibits left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy in intact rats and whether it alters cardiac gene expression.

Methods: 300 g rats were subjected to aortic constriction (AC) or sham-operation (SH) and studied 2 and 3 days after surgery.