Inhibition of K+ outward currents by linopirdine in the outer hair cells (OHCs) of circling mice (homozygous (cir/cir) mice), an animal model for human deafness (DFNB6 type), was investigated using a whole cell patch clamp technique. Littermate heterozygous (+/cir) and ICR mice of the same age (postnatal day (P) 0 -P6) were used as controls. Voltage steps from -100 mV to 40 mV elicited small in...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Lactobacillus fermentum Lee (LF-Lee) on activated carbon-induced constipation in ICR mice. ICR mice were orally administered lactic acid bacteria for nine days. Body weight, dietary and water intake, defecation status, gastrointestinal (GI) transit and defecation time, as well as levels of motilin (MTL), gastrin (Gas), endothelin (ET), som...

Suppurative gastritis was demonstrated in BALB/c mice 3 days after intragastric inoculation with 10(9) organisms of Listeria monocytogenes strain ATCC19113 (serotype 3). Also tested were four other strains of mice (C3H, C57BL/6, FVB and ICR) and three other strains of L. monocytogenes (HPB 3 [serotype 4b], HPB 410 [serotype 1/2a] and HPB 503 [serotype 1/2b]). After inoculation with ATCC19113 th...

The effect of dietary taurine on hepatic cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity was investigated in mice. At first, male ICR strain mice were fed a commercial non-purified diet for 4 weeks and killed at 01:00 h (midnight) or 13:00 h (daytime) and the cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity in the hepatic microsomal fraction was measured. The enzyme activity was 5.9-fold higher at midnight th...

Magnesium (Mg) is essential for cell functions such as the transport of calcium and potassium ions, and modulates signal transduction, energy metabolism, and cell proliferation. Although mice have been used as models of various neurological diseases of humans, and for investigating the therapeutic effects of Mg, neither the normal concentration of Mg in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), nor its respon...

The antidiabetic effects of lactic acid bacteria were investigated using mice. In Experiment 1, normal ICR mice were loaded with sucrose or starch with or without viable Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG cells. GG significantly inhibited postprandial blood glucose levels when administered with sucrose or starch. In Experiment 2, KK-A(y) mice, a model of genetic type 2 diabetes, were given a basal diet...