RATIONALE Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome is a restrictive lung disease characterized by surfactant deficiency. Decreased vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which demonstrates important roles in angiogenesis and vasculogenesis, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of restrictive lung diseases. Current animal models investigating VEGF in the etiology and outcomes of RDS require...

BACKGROUND Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and supplemental oxygen have become the mainstay of neonatal respiratory support in preterm infants. Although oxygen therapy is associated with respiratory morbidities including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), the long-term effects of CPAP on lung function are largely unknown. We used a hyperoxia-induced mouse model of BPD to explore the e...

Hepatocellular carcinoma develops in either chronically injured or seemingly intact livers. To explore the tumorigenic mechanisms underlying these different conditions, we compared the mRNA expression profiles of mouse hepatocellular tumors induced by the repeated injection of CCl4 or a single diethylnitrosamine (DEN) injection using a cDNA microarray. We identified tumor-associated genes that ...

In order to address the biological function of GlcNAc N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase-1 (NDST-1), we disrupted the NDST-1 gene by homologous recombination in mouse embryonic stem cells. The NDST-1 null mice developed respiratory distress and atelectasis that subsequently caused neonatal death. Morphological examination revealed type II pneumocyte immaturity, which was characterized by an incre...

NeuroD, a bHLH transcription factor, is implicated in differentiation of neurons and pancreatic beta cells. NeuroD-null mice die shortly after birth due to severe neonatal diabetes. To examine if there is postnatal neuronal phenotype in these mice, we rescued them from neonatal lethality by introducing a transgene encoding the mouse neuroD gene under the insulin promoter. These mice survive to ...

Muscle development, growth, and regeneration take place throughout vertebrate life. In amniotes, myogenesis takes place in four successive, temporally distinct, although overlapping phases. Understanding how embryonic, fetal, neonatal, and adult muscle are formed from muscle progenitors and committed myoblasts is an area of active research. In this review we examine recent expression, genetic l...

Cryptosporidium parvum infectivity in a neonatal CD-1 mouse model was used to determine the dose needed to infect 50% of the population. The 50% infective dose was estimated to be 79 oocysts. It was observed that a mean oral inoculum of 23 oocysts produced infection in 2 of 25 neonatal mice 7 days postinoculation. All animals became infected when the mean oral dose exceeded 310 oocysts per anim...

Purpose. To study suppressor and/or cytotoxic activity of the nuclear erythroid cells (NEC) against tumor various origins. Material and Methods. C57Bl/6 mice P815, L1210, B16 L929 were used. “Phenylhydrazine” NECs obtained from with induced hemolytic anemia. “Erythropoietin” isolated “phenylhydrazine spleen” further cultured in presence erythropoietin. Another source NEC was neonatal mouse sple...

BACKGROUND The inability of the adult mammalian heart to regenerate following injury represents a major barrier in cardiovascular medicine. In contrast, the neonatal mammalian heart retains a transient capacity for regeneration, which is lost shortly after birth. Defining the molecular mechanisms that govern regenerative capacity in the neonatal period remains a central goal in cardiac biology....