Dose-dependent blockade to cardiomyocyte hypertrophy by histone deacetylase inhibitors.

Postnatal cardiac myocytes respond to stress signals by hypertrophic growth and activation of a fetal gene program. Recently, we showed that class II histone deacetylases (HDACs) suppress cardiac hypertrophy, and mice lacking the class II HDAC, HDAC9, are sensitized to hypertrophic signals. To further define the roles of HDACs in cardiac hypertrophy, we analyzed the effects of HDAC inhibitors on the responsiveness of primary cardiomyocytes to hypertrophic agonists.

Cloning and characterization of cDNAs encoding four different canine immunoglobulin gamma chains.

cDNAs encoding four different canine immunoglobulin G (caIgG) gamma chains were identified in this study. One of these IgG gamma chain cDNAs, (caIgG-A), represents 92.5% of the IgG gamma chain cDNAs in a dog spleen cell cDNA library; a second partial IgG gamma chain cDNA (caIgG-B) was also identified in the library.

Rearranged T lymphocyte antigen receptor genes as markers of malignant T cells.

We have recently cloned a number of canine T cell receptor (TCR) Vbeta genes using degenerate oligonucleotides. From the DNA sequences of the resulting clones and the canine Vbeta gene sequences in the literature, seven distinct canine TCR Vbeta genes were identified. Vbeta specific PCR primers were designed for each of the seven TCR Vbeta genes such that under defined conditions, each primer could only amplify a specific TCR Vbeta gene in conjunction with the same 3' constant region (Cbeta) primer.

Suppression of acute Ixodes scapularis-induced Borrelia burgdorferi infection using tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-2, and interferon-gamma.

Down-regulation of mammalian cytokine production has been demonstrated during tick feeding. To examine the hypothesis that reconstitution of cytokines during tick feeding could facilitate immune containment of Borrelia burgdorferi, the following experiments were done. C3H/HeJ mice were given cytokines for 10 days after Ixodes scapularis attachment.

Gliding bacterial adjuvant stimulates feline cytokines in vitro and antigen-specific IgG in vivo.

Gliding bacterial adjuvant (GBA) has been previously characterized as a potent immune modulator, stimulating the growth of murine B lymphocytes, inducing murine NK cell activity, and promoting the release of several murine cytokines. Based on these studies and our interest in potentiating the effectiveness of feline vaccines, GBA was tested for its ability to stimulate feline T cells in vitro and act as a vaccine adjuvant in vivo. In vitro, GBA stimulated feline PBLs to proliferate and release interferon (IFN) and IL-2.