PURPOSE To evaluate the relationship between retinal ganglion cell (RGC) size, density distribution, and survival in senescent DBA2/NNia mice that develop pigmentary glaucoma. To evaluate the validity of nearest neighbor distance (NND), a measure of focal density for surviving RGCs in the retina, as a method to quantify RGC loss in mice. METHODS Fifteen-month-old DBA2/NNia mice were labeled r...

OVE26 (OVE) diabetic mice on the inbred strain FVB are a valuable model of diabetic nephropathy that excretes the highest amount of urine albumin of all diabetic mouse models. Crossing of OVE mice to C57BL6 or DBA2 mice reduced albuminuria 17-fold in F1 diabetic offspring without reducing diabetes. When comparing renal histology of OVE mice on the FVB background to F1 C57BL6 crosses, we found t...

It is well known that muscular dystrophy disease severity controlled by genetic modifiers. The expectation identifying these modifiers, we can illuminate additional therapeutic targets with which to combat the disease. To this end have been investigating MRL mouse strain, highly resistant dystrophy-mediated fibrosis. strain contains two mitochondrial-encoded, naturally occurring heteroplasmies:...

Abstract Objectives Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays a significant role in the progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitors are widely used antihyperglycemic agents, exerting renal beneficial effects DKD. Here, we investigated DPP4 inhibitor Sitagliptin (Sita) ER homeostasis kidneys DBA2/J (D2) mice albumin-stimulated HK-2 cells. Methods Resu...

Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) establishes a persistent infection in the central nervous system (CNS) leading to an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the CNS in which the histology and clinical course is similar to multiple sclerosis (MS). Disease pathogenesis is primarily due to T-cell-mediated destruction of myelin, which has been attributed to cytopathic effects of the v...

Mouse models have provided an essential platform to investigate facets of human diseases, from etiology, diagnosis, and prognosis, to potential treatments. Muscular dystrophy (MD) is the most common human genetic disease occurring in approximately 1 in 2500 births. The mdx mouse, which is dystrophin-deficient, has long been used to model this disease. However, this mouse strain displays a rathe...

Stressful environmental factors, such as a high-fat diet, can induce responses in the expression of genes that act to maintain physiological homeostasis. We observed variation in plasma concentrations of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol across inbred mouse strains in response to high dietary fat intake. Several strains, including C57BL/6J, have stable levels of plasma HDL independent ...