BACKGROUND Nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) in exhaled breath are considered obtainable biomarkers of physiologic mechanisms. Therefore, obtaining their measures simply, non-invasively, and repeatedly, is of interest, and was the purpose of the current study. METHODS Expired NO (ENO) and CO (ECO) were measured non-invasively using a gas micro-analyzer on several strains of mice (C57...

In humans, lack of phenylalanine hydroxylase (Pah) activity results in phenylketonuria (PKU), which is associated with the development of severe mental retardation after birth. The underlying mechanisms, however, are poorly understood. Mutations of the Pah gene in Pah(enu2)/c57bl6 mice result in elevated levels of phenylalanine in serum similar to those in humans suffering from PKU. In our stud...

BACKGROUND Weight in infancy correlates with risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obesity in adulthood. Clinical observations have been confounded by obesity-prone genotypes and obesity-linked lifestyles. OBJECTIVES To define the effects of isolated neonatal macrosomia in isogenic animals, we compared macrosomic and control C57Bl6 mice co-fostered by healthy dams receiving standard labo...

Therapeutic angiogenesis remains unsuccessful in coronary artery disease. It is known that plasma endothelium-derived microparticles (EMPs) are increased in coronary artery disease and that hypercholesterolemia can inhibit angiogenesis. We evaluated the relationship between EMPs and hypercholesterolemia in the impairment of angiogenesis. EMPs isolated from human umbilical vein endothelial cells...

Colorectal distension (CRD) is a well-characterized model of visceral nociception, which we adapted to the mouse. CRD reproducibly evoked contractions of the abdominal musculature [visceromotor response (VMR)], which was graded to stimulus intensity. The magnitude of VMR was greater in male C57BL6 and female 129S6 mice than in male 129S6 and B6.129 mice. In 129S6, C57BL6, and B6.129 mice strain...

The mouse mutant hemoglobin deficit (gene symbol hbd) is characterized by a severe microcytic anemia that is inherited in an autosomal-recessive manner. To assess the mutation's effect on hematopoiesis, unfractionated bone marrow (BM) from either a mutant C57BL6/J-hbd/hbd, Gpi1b/Gpi1b (phenotype symbol HBD), or normal C57BL6/J-+hbd/+hbd, Gpi1b/Gpi1b mouse was injected intravenously into irradia...

The degradation of ANG II by angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), leading to the formation of ANG(1-7), is an important step in the regulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), and one that is significantly altered in the diabetic kidney. This study examined the role of ACE2 in the hyperfiltration associated with diabetes. Streptozotocin diabetes was induced in male C57BL6 ...