Introduction: In a cross between two mouse strains, the susceptible B10.RIII (H-2(r)) and resistant RIIIS/J (H-2(r)) strains, a locus on mouse chromosome 5 (Eae39) was previously shown to control experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Recently, quantitative trait loci (QTL), linked to disease indifferent experimental arthritis models, were mapped to this region. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether genes within Eae39, in addition to EAE, control development of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA).
Methods: CIA, induced by immunisation with bovine type II collagen, was studied in Eae39 congenic and sub-interval congenic mice. Antibody titres were investigated with ELISA.Gene-typing was performed by micro-satellite mapping and statistics was calculated by standard methods.
Results: Experiments of CIA in Eae39 congenic- and sub-interval congenic mice, carrying RIIIS/J genes on the B10.RIII genetic background, revealed three loci within Eae39 that control disease and anti-collagen antibody titres. Two of the loci promoted disease and the third locus was protected against CIA development. By further breeding of mice with small congenic fragments, we identified a 3.2 mega base pair (Mbp)interval that regulates disease.
Conclusions: Disease-promoting and disease-protecting genes within the Eae39 locus on mouse chromosome 5 control susceptibility to CIA. A disease-protecting locus in the telomeric part of Eae39 results in lower anti-collagen antibody responses. The study shows the importance of breeding sub-congenic mouse strains to reveal genetic effects on complex diseases.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/ar2597 | DOI Listing |
Endocrinology
January 2025
Reproduction, Mother and Child Health, Centre de recherche du centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec - Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada, G1V 4G2.
Leydig cells produce hormones that are required for male development, fertility, and health. Two Leydig cell populations produce these hormones but at different times during development: fetal Leydig cells which are active during fetal life and adult Leydig cells that are functional postnatally. Historically, our ability to understand the origin and function of Leydig cells has been made difficult by the lack of genetic models to exclusively target these cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Adv
January 2025
Department of Neuroscience, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
Homeostatic sleep regulation is essential for optimizing the amount and timing of sleep for its revitalizing function, but the mechanism underlying sleep homeostasis remains poorly understood. Here, we show that optogenetic activation of locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic neurons immediately increased sleep propensity following a transient wakefulness, contrasting with many other arousal-promoting neurons whose activation induces sustained wakefulness. Fiber photometry showed that repeated optogenetic or sensory stimulation caused a rapid reduction of calcium activity in LC neurons and steep declines in noradrenaline/norepinephrine (NE) release in both the LC and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubcell Biochem
January 2025
Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Life Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICB), Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile.
Healthy brain functioning requires a continuous fine-tuning of gene expression, involving changes in the epigenetic landscape and 3D chromatin organization. Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are three multifactorial neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) that are partially explained by genetics (gene mutations and genetic risk factors) and influenced by non-genetic factors (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Genet
January 2025
Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.
Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic process that results in parent-of-origin effects on mammalian development and growth. Research on genomic imprinting in domesticated animals has lagged due to a primary focus on orthologs of mouse and human imprinted genes. This emphasis has limited the discovery of imprinted genes specific to livestock.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Med
January 2025
Merkin Institute of Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Prion disease is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by the misfolding of prion protein (PrP) encoded by the PRNP gene. While there is currently no cure for the disease, depleting PrP in the brain is an established strategy to prevent or stall templated misfolding of PrP. Here we developed in vivo cytosine and adenine base strategies delivered by adeno-associated viruses to permanently modify the PRNP locus to achieve PrP knockdown in the mouse brain.
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