Lectin-like receptor Ly49s3 on dendritic cells contributes to the differentiation of regulatory T cells in the rat thymus.

Naturally occurring regulatory T cells (nTregs), important for immune regulation and the maintenance of self-tolerance, develop in the thymus. The Hirosaki hairless rat (HHR), derived from the Sprague-Dawley rat (SDR), was shown to have decreased peripheral lymphocyte number, small thymus, and leukocyte infiltration in its dermis. In the HHR thymus, the medulla was underdeveloped and nTreg number was decreased.

Ferritin expression in rat hepatocytes and Kupffer cells after lead nitrate treatment.

Lead nitrate induces hepatocyte proliferation and subsequent apoptosis in rat livers. Iron is a constituent of heme and is also required for cell proliferation. In this study, the expression of ferritin light-chain (FTL), the major iron storage protein, was investigated in rat livers after a single intravenous injection of lead nitrate.

Physical and functional interactions between hematopoietic cell-specific ETS transcription factors and homeodomain proteins.

To examine the possibility that ETS family transcription factors, PU.1, SPI-B, ELF-1, ERG-3, ETS-1 and TEL, and homeodomain proteins, HOXA10, HOXC13, MEIS1 and PBX1B, function cooperatively, we investigated their interactions. In luciferase assays, HOXA10 and HOXC13 augmented the activity of PU.

The hairless phenotype of the Hirosaki hairless rat is due to the deletion of an 80-kb genomic DNA containing five basic keratin genes.

Most models of hereditary hypotrichosis are due to alterations in growth factors and transcription factors, and the examples of causative mutations in hair keratin genes are limited. The Hirosaki hairless rat (HHR) is a mutant strain spontaneously derived from Sprague-Dawley rats (SDRs). In this study, the locus of the responsible gene was examined by linkage analysis and mapped on chromosome 7q36.

Development of glutathione S-transferase-P-negative foci accompanying nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 expression during early stage of rat hepatocarcinogenesis.

Glutathione S-transferase P (GST-P), a marker for rat hepatic preneoplastic lesions, is suggested to bind to Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) to repress stress response, and GST-P gene expression is regulated by a transcription factor, nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). In this study, we examined by immunohistochemistry whether JNK2, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, and Nrf2 were expressed in GST-P-positive foci induced by the Solt-Farber protocol. At 2 weeks after partial hepatectomy, all GST-P-positive foci were negative for p38, and 86.

Interaction between the homeodomain protein HOXC13 and ETS family transcription factor PU.1 and its implication in the differentiation of murine erythroleukemia cells.

Some of homeodomain proteins and the ETS family of transcription factors are involved in hematopoiesis. RT-PCR analysis revealed that the HOXC13 and PU.1 genes were expressed in murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells and their levels decreased during DMSO-induced differentiation into erythroid cells.

Different susceptibility to peroxisome proliferator-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats with polymorphic glutathione transferase genes.

Although peroxisomal bifunctional enzyme (enoyl-CoA hydratase/L-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase; BE) is a positive marker for peroxisome proliferation, it is completely absent or expressed very weakly in rat hepatic preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions induced by peroxisome proliferators (PP). After administration of PP for 8-15 weeks, some rats exhibit BE-negative preneoplastic foci but other rats do not. In the present study, to investigate the involvement of glutathione S-transferase (GST) M1 gene polymorphism in interindividual differences in susceptibility to PP, we developed a method to determine the genotypes of rats.

Nuclear localization of STAT5A modified with O-linked N-acetylglucosamine and early involution in the mammary gland of Hirosaki hairless rat.

Hirosaki hairless rat (HHR) is a mutant strain spontaneously derived from Sprague-Dawley rats (SDR), and its inheritance is autosomal recessive. In addition to hair loss, female HHRs show involution of the mammary gland at an early stage of lactation. In the present study we investigated the mammary gland development in HHR.