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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...