Project description:We used high density oligonucleotide arrays to measure the relative expression levels of ~27,000 probe sets in the left ventricles of inbred rat strains; DA (high performing), Copenhagen (COP, low performing), as well as F1(COPxDA) rats bred from these tw
Project description:As the heart ages, electrophysiological and biochemical changes can occur, and the ventricle in many cases loses distensibility, impairing diastolic function. How the proteomic signature of the aged ventricle is unique in comparison to young hearts is still under active investigation. We have undertaken a quantitative proteomics study of aging left ventricles (LVs) utilizing the isobaric Tagging for Relative and Absolute Quantification (iTRAQ) methodology. Differential protein expression was observed for 117 proteins including proteins involved in cell signaling, the immune response, structural proteins, and proteins mediating responses to oxidative stress. For many of these proteins, this is the first report of an association with the aged myocardium. Additionally, two proteins of unknown function were identified. This work serves as the basis for making future comparisons of the aged left ventricle proteome to that of left ventricles obtained from other models of disease and heart failure.
Project description:Rats underwent surgery for LAD ligation for 30 min followed by reperfusion. Heart ventricles were collected 2d or 7d after reperfusion. Experiment Overall Design: rats were divided in following groups that underwent LAD occlusion or not (SHAM): Experiment Overall Design: 1. 7d-IR (n=3) Experiment Overall Design: 2. 7d-sham (n=3) Experiment Overall Design: 3. 2d-IR (n=3) Experiment Overall Design: 4. 7d-sham (n=3)
Project description:BACKGROUND:Murine kobuviruses (MuKV) are newly recognized picornaviruses first detected in murine rodents in the USA in 2011. Little information on MuKV epidemiology in murine rodents is available. Therefore, we conducted a survey of the prevalence and genomic characteristics of rat kobuvirus in Guangdong, China. RESULTS:Fecal samples from 223 rats (Rattus norvegicus) were collected from Guangdong and kobuviruses were detected in 12.6% (28) of samples. Phylogenetic analysis based on partial 3D and complete VP1 sequence regions showed that rat kobuvirus obtained in this study were genetically closely related to those of rat/mouse kobuvirus reported in other geographical areas. Two near full-length rat kobuvirus genomes (MM33, GZ85) were acquired and phylogenetic analysis of these revealed that they shared very high nucleotide/amino acids identity with one another (95.4%/99.4%) and a sewage-derived sequence (86.9%/93.5% and 87.5%/93.7%, respectively). Comparison with original Aichivirus A strains, such human kobuvirus, revealed amino acid identity values of approximately 80%. CONCLUSION:Our findings indicate that rat kobuvirus have distinctive genetic characteristics from other Aichivirus A viruses. Additionally, rat kobuvirus may spread via sewage.
Project description:In order to establish a rat embryonic stem cell transcriptome, mRNA from rESC cell line DAc8, the first male germline competent rat ESC line to be described and the first to be used to generate a knockout rat model was characterized using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis. 2 biological replicates of RRRC#464 DA-EC8/Rrrc cell line were sequenced with 50bp paired end reads using Illumina Hi-Seq 2000
Project description:The spontaneously hypertensive rat strain is a frequently used disease model. In a previous study, we measured translational efficiency from this strain and BN-Lx animals. Here, we describe long RNA sequencing reads from ribosomal RNA depleted samples from the same animals. This data can be used to investigate splicing-related events.RNA was extracted from rat liver and heart left ventricle from BN-Lx and SHR/Ola rats in biological replicates. Ribosomal RNA was removed and the samples subjected to directional high-throughput RNA-sequencing. Read and alignment statistics indicate high quality of the data. The raw sequencing reads are freely available on the NCBI short read archive and can be used for further research on tissue and strain differences, or analysed together with other published high-throughput data from the same animals.
Project description:Tool-use behaviour has been observed in nonhuman animals in the wild and in experimental settings. In the present study, we investigated whether rats (Rattus norvegicus) could manipulate a tool according to the position of food to obtain the food in an experimental setting. Eight rats were trained to use a rake-shaped tool to obtain food beyond their reach using a step-by-step protocol in the initial training period. Following training, the rake was placed at the centre of the experimental apparatus, and food was placed on either the left or right side of the rake. Rats learned to manipulate the rake to obtain food in situations in which they could not obtain the food just by pulling the rake perpendicularly to themselves. Our findings thus indicate that the rat is a potential animal model to investigate the behavioural and neural mechanisms of tool-use behaviour.
Project description:F1 rats primed with normal parental strain lymphocyte populations and restimulated in culture with parental lymphoblasts generate potent cytotoxic T cell responses to unusual antigen systems. Here we describe in the Lewis (L)/DA anti-DA combination an antigen system most likely of mitochondrial origin with the following properties: it is transmitted maternally from DA strain females, inherited in an extra-chromosomal manner, restricted by class I RT1Aa major histocompatibility complex gene products, extinguished on target cells treated with chloramphenicol, and its pattern of expression in different rat strains correlates with restriction fragment-length polymorphisms of mitochondrial DNA. Sequence analysis of the rat ND1 gene indicates that the maternally transferred factor in the rat is not a homologue of the maternally transmitted factor responsible for the mitochondrial antigen in mice. In keeping with its inheritance from DA females, this antigen is present on target cells from (DA female x L male)F1 donors and all other F1 combinations derived from DA female parents, but absent from target cells from some F1 combinations (L/DA and Wistar-Furth [WF]/DA) derived from DA strain males. The presence of this antigen in other F1 combinations (Brown Norway [BN]/DA, August 2880 [AUG]/DA, and PVG/DA) indicates that this mitochondrial antigen system is shared by the DA, BN, and PVG strains, but not by the L and WF strains.