Tyro3, Axl, Mertk receptor-mediated efferocytosis and immune regulation in the tumor environment.

Three structurally related tyrosine receptor cell surface kinases, Tyro3, Axl, and Mertk (TAM) have been recognized to modulate immune function, tissue homeostasis, cardiovasculature, and cancer. The TAM receptor family appears to operate in adult mammals across multiple cell types, suggesting both widespread and specific regulation of cell functions and immune niches. TAM family members regulate tissue homeostasis by monitoring the presence of phosphatidylserine expressed on stressed or apoptotic cells.

Postural coordination and control to the precision demands of light finger touch.

We examine the proposition that information availability and postural facilitation-usually viewed as opposing views in postural control-are intertwined with the effects of one being related to the other. If that is the case, a single control parameter (precision demands) would capture the changes in postural control relating information and postural facilitation. Using the dynamical systems approach, we investigated whether, manipulating touch requirements as to increase precision demands, would induce quantitative and qualitative changes in postural dynamics.

17beta-estradiol protects male mice from cuprizone-induced demyelination and oligodendrocyte loss.

In addition to regulating reproductive functions in the brain and periphery, estrogen has tropic and neuroprotective functions in the central nervous system (CNS). Estrogen administration has been demonstrated to provide protection in several animal models of CNS disorders, including stroke, brain injury, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, age-related cognitive decline and multiple sclerosis. Here, we use a model of toxin-induced oligodendrocyte death which results in demyelination, reactive gliosis, recruitment of oligodendrocyte precursor cells and subsequent remyelination to study the potential benefit of 17beta-estradiol (E2) administration in male mice.

Vessel target location estimation during the TIPS procedure.

Creation of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) requires passage of a needle toward a moving target that is only seen transiently by X-ray prior to needle passage. Intraoperative, 3D target localization would facilitate target access and improve the safety of the procedure. The clinical assumption is that patients undergoing the TIPS procedure possess rigid, cirrhotic livers that undergo only intraoperative translation without significant deformation or rotation.

The receptor tyrosine kinase MerTK regulates dendritic cell production of BAFF.

The MerTK receptor tyrosine kinase is an important negative regulator of dendritic cell function and is required to prevent B cell autoimmunity in vivo. It is not currently known however, if any causal relationship exists between these two aspects of MerTK function. We sought to determine if dendritic cells (DC) from mice lacking MerTK (mertk(- / - ) mice) have characteristics that may aid in the development of B cell autoimmunity.

SJL mice exposed to cuprizone intoxication reveal strain and gender pattern differences in demyelination.

The role of mouse strain and the influence of gender on demyelination were explored for the first time in SJL mice using the cuprizone intoxication model. We document here that SJL mice display a unique pattern of demyelination that did not follow the profile that is well-characterized in C57BL/6 mice. The SJL mice did not readily demyelinate at the midline within the corpus callosum but showed greater demyelination immediately lateral to midline.

Lifelong genetic minipumps.

Most physiologists working with animals are familiar with osmotic minipumps. These surgically implanted devices can, for a limited period, administer a reagent at a constant predetermined rate that is unaffected by concurrent procedures. The investigator can then test the physiological effects of other treatments knowing that the animals' homeostatic responses will not be able to alter the dose of the pumped reagent.

Analyzing attributes of vessel populations.

Almost all diseases affect blood vessel attributes (vessel number, radius, tortuosity, and branching pattern). Quantitative measurement of vessel attributes over relevant vessel populations could thus provide an important means of diagnosing and staging disease. Unfortunately, little is known about the statistical properties of vessel attributes.

Correlations between neuronal morphology and electrophysiological features in the rodent superficial dorsal horn.

Relationships between the morphology of individual neurones of the spinal superficial dorsal horn (SDH), laminae I and II, and their electrophysiological properties were studied in spinal cord slices prepared from anaesthetized, free-ranging hamsters. Tight-seal, whole-cell recordings were made with pipette microelectrodes filled with biocytin to establish electrophysiological characteristics and to label the studied neurones. Neurones were categorized according to location and size of the somata, the dendritic and axonal pattern of arborization, spontaneous synaptic potentials, evoked postsynaptic currents, pattern of discharge to depolarizing pulses and current-voltage relationships.

Cytoxicity of [(5,6-dichloro-9a-n-propyl-2,3,9,9a-tetrahydro-3-oxo-1H fluoren-7-yl)oxy]acetic acid, an agent known to reduce brain edema.

A known agent, [(5,6-dichloro-9a-n-propyl-2,3,9,9a-tetrahydro-3-oxo-1H fluoren-7-yl)oxy]acetic acid, which blocks brain edema, was also shown to be a potent cytotoxic agent in leukemia cells. The major site of action of the agents appears to be in the de novo purine synthetic pathway in L1210 leukemic cells. Both PRPP amido transferase and IMP dehydrogenase activities were suppressed by the agent.

Acute cocaine treatment decreases oxytocin levels in the rat hippocampus.

We examined the effects of an acute cocaine treatment on oxytocin levels in the whole hippocampus, ventral tegmental area (VTA) and amygdala in ovariectomized rats pretreated with 10 micrograms estradiol benzoate. Cocaine treatment significantly reduced oxytocin levels both in picograms/area and picograms/mg wet weight in the hippocampus but had no significant effect on levels in the VTA and amygdala. These data represent the first evidence for the reduction of oxytocin levels as a result of an acute cocaine treatment.