Project description:Aims: While Huntington’s disease is classified as a neurological disorder, HD patients exhibit a high incidence of cardiovascular events leading to heart failure and death. In this study, we sought to better understand the cardiovascular phenotype of HD using the BACHD mouse model. Methods and Results: The age-related decline in cardiovascular function was assessed by echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, histological and microarray analysis. We found that structural and functional differences between WT and BACHD hearts start at 3mo of age and continue throughout life. The aged BACHD mice develop cardiac fibrosis. The BACHD mice exhibited adaptive physiological changes to chronic isoproterenol challenge; however, the treatment exacerbated fibrotic lesions in the heart. Gene expression analysis indicates a strong tilt toward apoptosis in the young mutant tissue as well as changes in genes involved in cellular metabolism and proliferation. With age, the number of genes with altered expression increased with the largest changes occurring in the cardiovascular disease and cellular metabolism clusters. Conclusions: The BACHD model of HD exhibit a number of changes in cardiovascular function that start early in the disease progress and may provide an explanation for the higher CV risk in HD. These changes are consistent with dysfunction in ANS regulation although the hearts did respond adaptively to β-adrenergic challenge. Gene expression pattern changes are subtle but suggests biomarkers focusing on apoptosis, metabolism, immune function are worth further exploration.
Project description:Aims: While Huntingtonâs disease is classified as a neurological disorder, HD patients exhibit a high incidence of cardiovascular events leading to heart failure and death. In this study, we sought to better understand the cardiovascular phenotype of HD using the BACHD mouse model. Methods and Results: The age-related decline in cardiovascular function was assessed by echocardiograms, electrocardiograms, histological and microarray analysis. We found that structural and functional differences between WT and BACHD hearts start at 3mo of age and continue throughout life. The aged BACHD mice develop cardiac fibrosis. The BACHD mice exhibited adaptive physiological changes to chronic isoproterenol challenge; however, the treatment exacerbated fibrotic lesions in the heart. Gene expression analysis indicates a strong tilt toward apoptosis in the young mutant tissue as well as changes in genes involved in cellular metabolism and proliferation. With age, the number of genes with altered expression increased with the largest changes occurring in the cardiovascular disease and cellular metabolism clusters. Conclusions: The BACHD model of HD exhibit a number of changes in cardiovascular function that start early in the disease progress and may provide an explanation for the higher CV risk in HD. These changes are consistent with dysfunction in ANS regulation although the hearts did respond adaptively to β-adrenergic challenge. Gene expression pattern changes are subtle but suggests biomarkers focusing on apoptosis, metabolism, immune function are worth further exploration. Microarray-based gene expression analysis in tissue from transgenic mice and controls at different ages
Project description:The aim of the study was to investigate whether the trefoil peptide genes, in concerted action with a miRNA regulatory network, were contributing to nutritional maintrenance. Using a Tff2 knock-out mouse model, 48 specific miRNAs were noted to be significantly deregulated when compared to the wild type strain.
Project description:The aim of the study was to investigate whether the trefoil peptide genes, in concerted action with a miRNA regulatory network, were contributing to nutritional maintrenance. Using a Tff3 knock-out mouse model, 21 specific miRNAs were noted to be significantly deregulated when compared to the wild type strain.
Project description:Peripheral huntingtin silencing does not ameliorate central signs of disease in the B6.HttQ111/+ mouse model of Huntington’s disease
Project description:The aim of this study was to assess whether chronic treatment with RPV can modulate the progression of chronic liver disease, especially of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), through a nutritional model in wild-type mice Mice were daily treated with RPV (p.o.) and fed with normal or high fat diet during 3 months to induce fatty liver disease
Project description:PURPOSE: To provide a detailed gene expression profile of the normal postnatal mouse cornea. METHODS: Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) was performed on postnatal day (PN)9 and adult mouse (6 week) total corneas. The expression of selected genes was analyzed by in situ hybridization. RESULTS: A total of 64,272 PN9 and 62,206 adult tags were sequenced. Mouse corneal transcriptomes are composed of at least 19,544 and 18,509 unique mRNAs, respectively. One third of the unique tags were expressed at both stages, whereas a third was identified exclusively in PN9 or adult corneas. Three hundred thirty-four PN9 and 339 adult tags were enriched more than fivefold over other published nonocular libraries. Abundant transcripts were associated with metabolic functions, redox activities, and barrier integrity. Three members of the Ly-6/uPAR family whose functions are unknown in the cornea constitute more than 1% of the total mRNA. Aquaporin 5, epithelial membrane protein and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) omega-1, and GST alpha-4 mRNAs were preferentially expressed in distinct corneal epithelial layers, providing new markers for stratification. More than 200 tags were differentially expressed, of which 25 mediate transcription. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to providing a detailed profile of expressed genes in the PN9 and mature mouse cornea, the present SAGE data demonstrate dynamic changes in gene expression after eye opening and provide new probes for exploring corneal epithelial cell stratification, development, and function and for exploring the intricate relationship between programmed and environmentally induced gene expression in the cornea. Keywords: other