Rats lacking Ucp1 present a novel translational tool for the investigation of thermogenic adaptation during cold challenge.

Aim: Valuable studies have tested the role of UCP1 on body temperature maintenance in mice, and we sought to knockout Ucp1 in rats (Ucp1 ) to provide insight into thermogenic mechanisms in larger mammals.

Methods: We used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to create Ucp1 rats. Body weight and adiposity were measured, and rats were subjected to indirect calorimetry.

Antigen Discovery for Next-Generation Pertussis Vaccines Using Immunoproteomics and Transposon-Directed Insertion Sequencing.

Background: Despite high vaccination rates, the United States has experienced a resurgence in reported cases of pertussis after switching to the acellular pertussis vaccine, indicating a need for improved vaccines that enhance infection control.

Methods: Bordetella pertussis antigens recognized by convalescent-baboon serum and nasopharyngeal wash were identified by immunoproteomics and their subcellular localization predicted. Genes essential or important for persistence in the baboon airway were identified by transposon-directed insertion-site sequencing (TraDIS) analysis.

Female Mice Are Protected from Metabolic Decline Associated with Lack of Skeletal Muscle HuR.

Male mice lacking HuR in skeletal muscle (HuR) have been shown to have decreased gastrocnemius lipid oxidation and increased adiposity and insulin resistance. The same consequences have not been documented in female HuR mice. Here we examine this sexually dimorphic phenotype.

The RNA binding protein HuR influences skeletal muscle metabolic flexibility in rodents and humans.

Background: Metabolic flexibility can be assessed by changes in respiratory exchange ratio (RER) following feeding. Though metabolic flexibility (difference in RER between fasted and fed state) is often impaired in individuals with obesity or type 2 diabetes, the cellular processes contributing to this impairment are unclear.

Materials And Methods: From several clinical studies we identified the 16 most and 14 least metabolically flexible male and female subjects out of >100 participants based on differences between 24-hour and sleep RER measured in a whole-room indirect calorimeter.