AIM We investigated differences of metastatic spread of normal proteinase-activated receptor-2 (Par2+/+) melanoma B16 in Par2-/- (knock-out) animals compared to C57Bl6 mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS Nine knock-out mice B6.Cg-F2rl1tm1Mslb/J (Par2-/-) and nine C57Bl6/J controls were subcutaneously inoculated with B16 melanoma tissue cells. Twelve days after inoculation, all primary tumors were rem...

Controversy remains whether articular cartilage has an endogenous stem/progenitor cell population, since its poor healing capacity after injury can lead to diseases such as osteoarthritis. In the joint environment there are mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (MSCs) in the synovial membrane and synovial fluid that can differentiate into cartilage, but it is still under debate if these cells contr...

INTRODUCTION Several evidences show that muscles have an endocrine function. Glucocorticoid, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone receptors have already been found in normal skeletal muscles, but not in dystrophic muscles. METHODS The gene expression of hormone receptors was compared between dystrophic and healthy muscles in mdx and C57BL6 mice strains. RESULTS The mdx mice showed a sig...

Gene expression profiling was carried out comparing Con A elicited peritoneal macrophages from C57BL6 and FVBN wild-type and apolipoprotein (apo)E knockout mice. An EST, was expressed at higher levels in C57BL6 compared with FVBN mice. mapped to an atherosclerosis susceptibility locus on chromosome 19 revealed in an intercross between atherosclerosis-susceptible C57BL6 and atherosclerosis-resis...

One of the tissues or organs affected by diabetes is the nervous system, predominantly the peripheral system (peripheral polyneuropathy and/or painful peripheral neuropathy) but also the central system with impaired learning, memory and mental flexibility. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that the pre-diabetic or diabetic condition caused by a high-fat diet (HFD) can damage both...

BACKGROUND The discovery of heat-sensitive Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid (TRPV) ion channels provided a potential molecular explanation for the perception of innocuous and noxious heat stimuli. TRPV1 has a significant role in acute heat nociception and inflammatory heat hyperalgesia. Yet, substantial innocuous and noxious heat sensitivity remains in TRPV1 knockout animals. Here we inve...

BACKGROUND/AIMS the C57Bl6 mouse is resistant to chronic kidney disease (CKD) induced by reduction of renal mass (RRM). Nitric oxide (NO) deficiency exacerbates CKD progression so this study investigated whether combination of RRM and NO deficiency would render the C57Bl6 mouse vulnerable to CKD. METHODS we used wild-type (WT) mice with RRM, chronic NO synthase (NOS) inhibition and a combinat...

The 5TGM1 multiple myeloma transplanted C57BL6/KaLwRij model recapitulates many disease features including monoclonal paraprotein production as well as the development of osteolytic bone lesions. Since a significant association between serum parathyroid hormone PTH variations, bone anabolism and myeloma progression in patients receiving proteasome inhibitors exists, this study investigated the ...