Specific inbred strains of mice have been shown to vary considerably in their resistance and susceptibility to herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection. We injected 2 X 10(5) plaque forming units (PFU) of the KOS strain of HSV-1 intracamerally into one eye of BALB/c, C57Bl/6, and F1 (BALB/c X C57Bl/6) mice. HSV-1 antigens were localized in frozen sections of enucleated eyes at 10 to 14 days post-in...

The contribution of genetic and environmental factors to variations in bone quality are understood poorly. We tested whether bone brittleness varies with genetic background using the A/J and C57BL/6J inbred mouse strains. Whole bone four-point bending tests revealed a 70% decrease in postyield deflection of A/J femurs compared with C57BL/6J, indicating that A/J femurs failed in a significantly ...

The differential susceptibility of inbred mouse strains DBA/2J (susceptible) and C57BL/6J (resistant) to pulmonary tuberculosis following aerosol infection is under complex genetic control. In this report, transcriptional profiling with RNAs from Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected lungs was used to investigate the physiological response, cell type, and biochemical pathways underlying different...

We previously showed that the phenotype of mice with targeted disruption of the gene encoding the AT1A receptor (Agtr1a), the major murine AT1 receptor isoform, is strongly influenced by recessive genetic modifiers derived from the C57BL/6 or 129 inbred strains. To further evaluate the genetic modifiers on the C57BL/6 background, we performed backcrosses between F1(C57BL/6x129) and C57BL/6 Agtr...

A/J mice, as compared to C57BL/6J (B6) mice, have a significantly greater total femoral mineral (ash) content which correlates with an increased femoral stiffness (resistance to deformation), but also with an increased brittleness (catastrophic failure). To determine if this whole bone variation in mineral content is indicative of significant mineral and/or matrix variation at the tissue level,...

The mouse strains C3H/Bi McL and C57BL/McL were shown to have markedly different spermatozoa, and, by combining four different sperm dimensions by means of a discriminant function, it was possible to identify individual spermatozoa from the two strains with a calculated misclassification probability of 2.1%. Hybrids had intermediate sperm discriminant values. The sperm from five C3H++ C57 chime...

Many studies have used "reverse" genetics to produce "knock-out" and transgenic mice to explore the roles of various molecules in long-term potentiation (LTP) and spatial memory. The existence of a variety of inbred strains of mice provides an additional way of exploring the genetic bases of learning and memory. We examined behavioral memory and LTP expression in area CA1 of hippocampal slices ...

Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which play a critical role in immune recognition, influence mating preference and other social behaviors in mice. Training experiments using urine scent from mice differing only in the MHC complex, from MHC class I mutants or from knock-out mice lacking functional MHC class I molecules (beta2m-deficient), suggest that these behavioral effects...

Genetic makeup of the host plays a significant role in the course and outcome of infection. Inbred strains of mice display a wide range of sensitivities to Listeria monocytogenes infection and thus serve as a good model for analysis of the effect of genetic polymorphism. The outcome of L. monocytogenes infection in mice is influenced by the ability of this bacterium to induce expression of inte...

BACKGROUND In vitro fertilization (IVF) of eggs by frozen and thawed C57BL/6J mouse sperm is inhibited by dead sperm and enhanced by preincubation of the sperm in calcium-free medium. In other species, the presence of sperm killed by freezing and thawing has been associated with the generation of hydrogen peroxide. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS The proportion of eggs fertilized by cryopreser...