The emergence of human noroviruses (NoV) as significant human pathogens over the last decades has highlighted the need to research and understand the replication and pathogenesis of this group of viruses. One of the major hurdles faced by researchers in this field has been the lack of a viable tissue culture system or small animal model with which to study human NoV replication. The discovery o...

In the mouse embryo, the body axis continues to develop after gastrulation as a tail forms at the posterior end of the embryo. Little is known about what controls outgrowth and patterning of the tail, but it has been speculated that the ventral ectodermal ridge (VER), a morphologically distinct ectoderm on the ventral surface near the tip of the tail, is a source of signals that regulate tail d...

A proportion of neural tube defects (NTDs) can be prevented by maternal folic acid supplementation, although some cases are unresponsive. The curly tail mutant mouse provides a model of folate-resistant NTDs, in which defects can be prevented by inositol therapy in early pregnancy. Hence, inositol represents a possible novel adjunct therapy to prevent human NTDs. The present study investigated ...

Cellular disintegrins are a family of proteins that are related to snake venom integrin ligands and metalloproteases. We have cloned and sequenced the mouse and human homologue of a widely expressed cellular disintegrin, which we have termed MDC9 (for metalloprotease/disintegrin/cysteine-rich protein 9). The deduced mouse and human protein sequences are 82% identical. MDC9 contains several dist...

In vivo rodent tail models are becoming more widely used for exploring the role of mechanical loading on the initiation and progression of intervertebral disc degeneration. Historically, finite element models (FEMs) have been useful for predicting disc mechanics in humans. However, differences in geometry and tissue properties may limit the predictive utility of these models for rodent discs. C...

Naturally occurring or laboratorygenerated genetic modifications of striated muscle in mice have been linked to cardiomyopathies or muscular dystrophies (1–4). Such mutations are generally recognized by recombinant DNA techniques, especially PCR, but uncertainties about the genetic locus of particular mutations and variations in DNA sequences among different strains of mice may limit the useful...

At the proximal part of mouse chromosome 17 there are three well-defined genes affecting the axis of the embryo and consequently tail length: Brachyury, Brachyury the second, and the t-complex tail interaction (T1, T2, and tct). The existence of T1 and tct in fact defines the classical "t-complex" that occupies approximately 40 cM of mouse chromosome 17. Their relationship to each other and var...

Sevento eight-day mouse tail vertebrae were transplanted under the renal capsules of syngeneic adult animals and allowed to grow for up to 6 months. Their curve of growth and histological pattern of ageing were similar to those of control vertebrae which had been left in their normal position on young animals. Slices of the growth cartilage of sevento eight-day rat tail vertebrae were similarly...