Medical Pathology Commons^™

Comparison Of Transcriptional Profiles Of Treponema Pallidum During Experimental Infection Of Rabbits And In Vitro Culture: Highly Similar, Yet Different, Bridget D De Lay, Todd A Cameron, Nicholas R De Lay, Steven J Norris, Diane G Edmondson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Treponema pallidum ssp. pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, can now be cultured continuously in vitro utilizing a tissue culture system, and the multiplication rates are similar to those obtained in experimental infection of rabbits. In this study, the RNA transcript profiles of the T. pallidum Nichols during in vitro culture and rabbit infection were compared to examine whether gene expression patterns differed in these two environments. To this end, RNA preparations were converted to cDNA and subjected to RNA-seq using high throughput Illumina sequencing; reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR was also performed on selected genes for validation of results. The …

Parameters Affecting Continuous In Vitro Culture Of Treponema Pallidum Strains, Diane G Edmondson, Bridget D Delay, Lindsay E Kowis, Steven J Norris

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The bacterium that causes syphilis, Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum, has now been cultured in vitro continuously for periods exceeding 3 years using a system consisting of coculture with Sf1Ep rabbit epithelial cells in TpCM-2 medium and a low-oxygen environment. In addition, long-term culture of several other syphilis isolates (SS14, Mexico A, UW231B, and UW249B) and the T. pallidum subsp. endemicum Bosnia A strain has been achieved. During in vitro passage, T. pallidum subsp. pallidum exhibited a typical bacterial growth curve with logarithmic and stationary phases. Sf1Ep cells are required for sustained growth and motility; however, high initial Sf1Ep cell …

Impaired Eif5a Function Causes A Mendelian Disorder That Is Partially Rescued In Model Systems By Spermidine., Víctor Faundes, Martin D. Jennings, Siobhan Crilly, Sarah Legraie, Sarah E. Withers, Sara Cuvertino, Sally J. Davies, Andrew G L Douglas, Andrew E. Fry, Victoria Harrison, Jeanne Amiel, Daphné Lehalle, William G. Newman, Patricia Newkirk, Judith Ranells, Miranda Splitt, Laura A. Cross, Carol J. Saunders, Bonnie Sullivan, Jorge L. Granadillo, Christopher T. Gordon, Paul R. Kasher, Graham D. Pavitt, Siddharth Banka

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

The structure of proline prevents it from adopting an optimal position for rapid protein synthesis. Poly-proline-tract (PPT) associated ribosomal stalling is resolved by highly conserved eIF5A, the only protein to contain the amino acid hypusine. We show that de novo heterozygous EIF5A variants cause a disorder characterized by variable combinations of developmental delay, microcephaly, micrognathia and dysmorphism. Yeast growth assays, polysome profiling, total/hypusinated eIF5A levels and PPT-reporters studies reveal that the variants impair eIF5A function, reduce eIF5A-ribosome interactions and impair the synthesis of PPT-containing proteins. Supplementation with 1 mM spermidine partially corrects the yeast growth defects, improves the polysome profiles …

Yebc Regulates Variable Surface Antigen Vlse Expression And Is Required For Host Immune Evasion In Borrelia Burgdorferi, Yan Zhang, Tong Chen, Sajith Raghunandanan, Xuwu Xiang, Jing Yang, Qiang Liu, Diane G Edmondson, Steven J Norris, X Frank Yang, Yongliang Lou

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease pathogen causes persistent infection by evading the host immune response. Differential expression of the surface-exposed lipoprotein VlsE that undergoes antigenic variation is a key immune evasion strategy employed by B. burgdorferi. Most studies focused on the mechanism of VlsE antigen variation, but little is known about VlsE regulation and factor(s) that regulates differential vlsE expression. In this study, we investigated BB0025, a putative YebC family transcriptional regulator (and hence designated BB0025 as YebC of B. burgdorferi herein). We constructed yebC mutant and complemented strain in an infectious strain of B. burgdorferi. The yebC mutant could …

In Vitro Susceptibility Of Treponema Pallidum Subsp Pallidum To Doxycycline, Diane G Edmondson, Gary P Wormser, Steven J Norris

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Doxycycline is regarded as an effective therapy for early syphilis, and there is increasing interest in using doxycycline for prophylaxis of this infection. However, the MIC of doxycycline for Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum has not been reported previously. In this study, an in vitro culture system was utilized to determine that the MIC of doxycycline is 0.06 to 0.10 μg/ml for four strains of T. pallidum subsp. pallidum (Nichols, SS14, UW231B, and UW249B). The Nichols strain cultured in vitro with doxycycline was also tested for infectivity in rabbits, and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was found to be ≤0.1 μg/ml …

Symmetric Inverse Consistent Nonlinear Registration Driven By Mutual Information, Wen Fury, Keun Woo Park, Zhuhao Wu, Eunhee Kim, Moon-Sook Woo, Yu Bai, Lynn E Macdonald, Susan D Croll, Sunghee Cho

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Stroke is a major cause of chronic neurological disability. There is considerable interest in understanding how acute transcriptome changes evolve into subacute and chronic patterns that facilitate or limit spontaneous recovery. Here we mapped longitudinal changes in gene expression at multiple time points after stroke in mice out to 6 months.

METHODS: Adult C57BL/6 mice were subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Longitudinal transcriptome levels were measured at 10 time points after stroke from acute to recovery phases of ischemic stroke. Localization and the number of mononuclear phagocytes were determined in the postischemic brain. Whole-mount brain …

Bispecific Human Il2-Ccr4 Immunotoxin Targets Human Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma, Haoyu Wang, Zhaohui Wang, Huiping Zhang, Zeng Qi, Ariel C Johnson, David Mathes, Elizabeth A Pomfret, Erin Rubin, Christene A Huang, Zhirui Wang

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The majority of clinically diagnosed cutaneous T‐cell lymphomas (CTCL) highly express the cell‐surface markers CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) and/or CD25. Recently, we have developed diphtheria toxin‐based recombinant Ontak®‐like human IL2 fusion toxin (IL2 fusion toxin) and anti‐human CCR4 immunotoxin (CCR4 IT). In this study, we first compared the efficacy of the CCR4 IT vs IL2 fusion toxin for targeting human CD25+CCR4+ CTCL. We demonstrated that CCR4 IT was more effective than IL2 fusion toxin. We further constructed an IL2‐CCR4 bispecific IT. The bispecific IT was significantly more effective than either IL2 fusion toxin or CCR4 IT alone. The bispecific …

Effect Of Hemiepiphysiodesis On The Growth Plate: The Histopathological Changes And Mechanism Exploration Of Recurrence In Mini Pig Model., Jing Ding, Jin He, Zhi-Qiang Zhang, Zhen-Kai Wu, Fang-Chun Jin

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Purpose: Hemiepiphysiodesis has been widely used to correct angular deformity of long bone in immature patients. However, there is a limited knowledge about the biomechanical effect of this technique on the histopathological changes of the growth plate and the mechanism of recurrence of malformation after implant removal. We aimed to evaluate the biomechanical effect of hemiepiphysiodesis on the histopathological changes of the growth plate and the mechanism of recurrence of malformation after implant removal in Bama miniature pigs, and to explore the role of asymmetric stress during this procedure.

Methods: Eight 3-month-old male Bama miniature pigs sustained surgeries on the …

Metabolic And Molecular Insights Into An Essential Role Of Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase., Li Q. Zhang, Leon Van Haandel, Min Xiong, Peixin Huang, Daniel P. Heruth, Chengpeng Bi, R Gaedigk, Xun Jiang, Ding-You Li, Gerald Wyckoff, Dmitry N. Grigoryev, Li Gao, Linheng Li, Min Wu, J Steven Leeder, Shui Qing Ye

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) is a pleiotropic protein implicated in the pathogenesis of acute respiratory distress syndrome, aging, cancer, coronary heart diseases, diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, and sepsis. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of NAMPT in these physiological and pathological processes are not fully understood. Here, we provide experimental evidence that a Nampt gene homozygous knockout (Nampt-/-) resulted in lethality at an early stage of mouse embryonic development and death within 5-10 days in adult mice accompanied by a 25.24±2.22% body weight loss, after the tamoxifen induction of NamptF/F × Cre mice. These results substantiate that Nampt …

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Induces Signs Of Alzheimer’S Disease (Ad) In Wild-Type Mice And Accelerates Pathological Signs Of Ad In An Ad Model, Do-Geun Kim, Antje Krenz, Leon E. Toussaint, Kirk J. Maurer

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease afflicting about one third of the world's population and 30 % of the US population. It is induced by consumption of high-lipid diets and is characterized by liver inflammation and subsequent liver pathology. Obesity and consumption of a high-fat diet are known to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we investigated NAFLD-induced liver inflammation in the pathogenesis of AD.

Methods: WT and APP-Tg mice were fed with a standard diet (SD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 2, 5 months, or 1 year to induce NAFLD. Another …

The Role Of Perlecan And Endorepellin In The Control Of Tumor Angiogenesis And Endothelial Cell Autophagy., Stephen Douglass, Atul Goyal, Renato V. Iozzo

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

During tumor growth and angiogenesis there is a dynamic remodeling of tissue architecture often accompanied by the release of extracellular matrix constituents full of biological activity. One of the key constituents of the tumor microenvironment is the large heparan sulfate proteoglycan perlecan. This proteoglycan, strategically located at cell surfaces and within basement membranes, is a well-defined pro-angiogenic molecule when intact. However, when partially processed by proteases released during cancer remodeling and invasion, the C-terminal fragment of perlecan, known as endorepellin, has opposite effects than its parent molecule. Endorepellin is a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis by exerting a dual receptor antagonism …

Differentiation State-Specific Mitochondrial Dynamic Regulatory Networks Are Revealed By Global Transcriptional Analysis Of The Developing Chicken Lens., Daniel Chauss, Subhasree Basu, Suren Rajakaruna, Zhiwei Ma, Victoria Gau, Sara Anastas, Lisa A. Brennan, J. Fielding Hejtmancik, A. Sue Menko, Marc Kantorow

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

The mature eye lens contains a surface layer of epithelial cells called the lens epithelium that requires a functional mitochondrial population to maintain the homeostasis and transparency of the entire lens. The lens epithelium overlies a core of terminally differentiated fiber cells that must degrade their mitochondria to achieve lens transparency. These distinct mitochondrial populations make the lens a useful model system to identify those genes that regulate the balance between mitochondrial homeostasis and elimination. Here we used an RNA sequencing and bioinformatics approach to identify the transcript levels of all genes expressed by distinct regions of the lens epithelium …

Targeting Fibroblast Activation Protein In Tumor Stroma With Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells Can Inhibit Tumor Growth And Augment Host Immunity Without Severe Toxicity., Liang-Chuan S. Wang, Albert Lo, John Scholler, Jing Sun, Rajrupa S. Majumdar, Veena Kapoor, Michael Antzis, Cody E. Cotner, Laura A. Johnson, Amy C. Durham, Charalambos C. Solomides, Md, Carl H. June, Ellen Puré, Steven M. Albelda

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

The majority of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell research has focused on attacking cancer cells. Here, we show that targeting the tumor-promoting, nontransformed stromal cells using CAR T cells may offer several advantages. We developed a retroviral CAR construct specific for the mouse fibroblast activation protein (FAP), comprising a single-chain Fv FAP [monoclonal antibody (mAb) 73.3] with the CD8α hinge and transmembrane regions, and the human CD3ζ and 4-1BB activation domains. The transduced muFAP-CAR mouse T cells secreted IFN-γ and killed FAP-expressing 3T3 target cells specifically. Adoptively transferred 73.3-FAP-CAR mouse T cells selectively reduced FAP(hi) stromal cells and inhibited the …

Neuroinflammation And Psychiatric Illness, Souhel Najjar, Daniel M. Pearlman, Kenneth Alper, Amanda Najjar, Orrin Devinsky

Dartmouth Scholarship

Multiple lines of evidence support the pathogenic role of neuroinflammation in psychiatric illness. While systemic autoimmune diseases are well-documented causes of neuropsychiatric disorders, synaptic autoimmune encephalitides with psychotic symptoms often go under-recognized. Parallel to the link between psychiatric symptoms and autoimmunity in autoimmune diseases, neuroimmunological abnormalities occur in classical psychiatric disorders (for example, major depressive, bipolar, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorders). Investigations into the pathophysiology of these conditions traditionally stressed dysregulation of the glutamatergic and monoaminergic systems, but the mechanisms causing these neurotransmitter abnormalities remained elusive. We review the link between autoimmunity and neuropsychiatric disorders, and the human and experimental evidence …

Blood-Brain Barrier Abnormalities Caused By Hiv-1 Gp120: Mechanistic And Therapeutic Implications., Jean-Pierre Louboutin, David S Strayer

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is compromised in many systemic and CNS diseases, including HIV-1 infection of the brain. We studied BBB disruption caused by HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein 120 (gp120) as a model. Exposure to gp120, whether acute [by direct intra-caudate-putamen (CP) injection] or chronic [using SV(gp120), an experimental model of ongoing production of gp120] disrupted the BBB, and led to leakage of vascular contents. Gp120 was directly toxic to brain endothelial cells. Abnormalities of the BBB reflect the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). These target laminin and attack the tight junctions between endothelial cells and BBB basal laminae. MMP-2 and …

Decorin Protein Core Affects The Global Gene Expression Profile Of The Tumor Microenvironment In A Triple-Negative Orthotopic Breast Carcinoma Xenograft Model., Simone Buraschi, Thomas Neill, Rick T Owens, Leonardo A Iniguez, George Purkins, Rajanikanth Vadigepalli, Barry Evans, Liliana Schaefer, Stephen C Peiper, Zi-Xuan Wang, Renato V Iozzo

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Decorin, a member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan gene family, exists and functions wholly within the tumor microenvironment to suppress tumorigenesis by directly targeting and antagonizing multiple receptor tyrosine kinases, such as the EGFR and Met. This leads to potent and sustained signal attenuation, growth arrest, and angiostasis. We thus sought to evaluate the tumoricidal benefits of systemic decorin on a triple-negative orthotopic breast carcinoma xenograft model. To this end, we employed a novel high-density mixed expression array capable of differentiating and simultaneously measuring gene signatures of both Mus musculus (stromal) and Homo sapiens (epithelial) tissue origins. We found that …

Temporal Changes In Innate Immune Signals In A Rat Model Of Alcohol Withdrawal In Emotional And Cardiorespiratory Homeostatic Nuclei., Kate Freeman, Anthony Brureau, Rajanikanth Vadigepalli, Mary M Staehle, Melanie M Brureau, Gregory E Gonye, Jan B Hoek, D Craig Hooper, James S Schwaber

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Chronic alcohol use changes the brain's inflammatory state. However, there is little work examining the progression of the cytokine response during alcohol withdrawal, a period of profound autonomic and emotional upset. This study examines the inflammatory response in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and dorsal vagal complex (DVC), brain regions neuroanatomically associated with affective and cardiorespiratory regulation in an in vivo rat model of withdrawal following a single chronic exposure.

METHODS: For qRT-PCR studies, we measured the expression of TNF-α, NOS-2, Ccl2 (MCP-1), MHC II invariant chain CD74, and the TNF receptor Tnfrsf1a in CeA and DVC …

Rip1-Dependent And Independent Effects Of Necrostatin-1 In Necrosis And T Cell Activation., Youngsik Cho, Thomas Mcquade, Haibing Zhang, Jianke Zhang, Francis Ka-Ming Chan

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Programmed necrosis/necroptosis is an emerging form of cell death that plays important roles in mammalian development and the immune system. The pro-necrotic kinases in the receptor interacting protein (RIP) family are crucial mediators of programmed necrosis. Recent advances in necrosis research have been greatly aided by the identification of chemical inhibitors that block programmed necrosis. Necrostatin-1 (Nec-1) and its derivatives were previously shown to target the pro-necrotic kinase RIP1/RIPK1. The protective effect conferred by Nec-1 and its derivatives in many experimental model systems was often attributed to the inhibition of RIP1 function.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We compared the effect of …

Mitostatin Is Down-Regulated In Human Prostate Cancer And Suppresses The Invasive Phenotype Of Prostate Cancer Cells., Matteo Fassan, Domenico D'Arca, Juraj Letko, Andrea Vecchione, Marina P Gardiman, Peter Mccue, Bernadette Wildemore, Massimo Rugge, Dolores Shupp-Byrne, Leonard G Gomella, Andrea Morrione, Renato V Iozzo, Raffaele Baffa

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

MITOSTATIN, a novel putative tumor suppressor gene induced by decorin overexpression, is expressed in most normal human tissues but is markedly down-regulated in advanced stages of mammary and bladder carcinomas. Mitostatin negatively affects cell growth, induces cell death and regulates the expression and activation levels of Hsp27. In this study, we demonstrated that ectopic expression of Mitostatin in PC3, DU145, and LNCaP prostate cancer cells not only induced a significant reduction in cell growth, but also inhibited migration and invasion. Moreover, Mitostatin inhibited colony formation in soft-agar of PC3 and LNCaP cells as well as tumorigenicity of LNCaP cells in …

Mir-21 Induced Angiogenesis Through Akt And Erk Activation And Hif-1Α Expression., Ling-Zhi Liu, Chongyong Li, Qi Chen, Yi Jing, Richard Carpenter, Yue Jiang, Hsiang-Fu Kung, Lihui Lai, Bing-Hua Jiang

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, small noncoding RNAs that play important roles in various cellular functions and tumor development. Recent studies have indicated that miR-21 is one of the important miRNAs associated with tumor growth and metastasis, but the role and molecular mechanism of miR-21 in regulating tumor angiogenesis remain to be elucidated. In this study, miR-21 was overexpressed by transfecting pre-miR-21 into human prostate cancer cells and tumor angiogenesis was assayed using chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). We found that overexpression of miR-21 in DU145 cells increased the expression of HIF-1α and VEGF, and induced tumor angiogenesis. AKT and extracellular regulated …

Fus Transgenic Rats Develop The Phenotypes Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis And Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration., Cao Huang, Hongxia Zhou, Jianbin Tong, Han Chen, Yong-Jian Liu, Dian Wang, Xiaotao Wei, Xu-Gang Xia

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Fused in Sarcoma (FUS) proteinopathy is a feature of frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTLD), and mutation of the fus gene segregates with FTLD and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To study the consequences of mutation in the fus gene, we created transgenic rats expressing the human fus gene with or without mutation. Overexpression of a mutant (R521C substitution), but not normal, human FUS induced progressive paralysis resembling ALS. Mutant FUS transgenic rats developed progressive paralysis secondary to degeneration of motor axons and displayed a substantial loss of neurons in the cortex and hippocampus. This neuronal loss was accompanied by ubiquitin aggregation and …

Tdp-43 Potentiates Alpha-Synuclein Toxicity To Dopaminergic Neurons In Transgenic Mice., Tian Tian, Cao Huang, Jianbin Tong, Ming Yang, Hongxia Zhou, Xugang Xia

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

TDP-43 and α-synuclein are two disease proteins involved in a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases. While TDP-43 proteinopathy is considered a pathologic hallmark of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobe degeneration, α-synuclein is a major component of Lewy body characteristic of Parkinson's disease. Intriguingly, TDP-43 proteinopathy also coexists with Lewy body and with synucleinopathy in certain disease conditions. Here we reported the effects of TDP-43 on α-synuclein neurotoxicity in transgenic mice. Overexpression of mutant TDP-43 (M337V substitution) in mice caused early death in transgenic founders, but overexpression of normal TDP-43 only induced a moderate loss of cortical neurons in …

S-Glutathionylation Activates Stim1 And Alters Mitochondrial Homeostasis., Brian J Hawkins, Krishna M Irrinki, Karthik Mallilankaraman, Yu-Chin Lien, Youjun Wang, Cunnigaiper D Bhanumathy, Ramasamy Subbiah, Michael F Ritchie, Jonathan Soboloff, Yoshihiro Baba, Tomohiro Kurosaki, Suresh K Joseph, Donald L Gill, Muniswamy Madesh

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Oxidant stress influences many cellular processes, including cell growth, differentiation, and cell death. A well-recognized link between these processes and oxidant stress is via alterations in Ca(2+) signaling. However, precisely how oxidants influence Ca(2+) signaling remains unclear. Oxidant stress led to a phenotypic shift in Ca(2+) mobilization from an oscillatory to a sustained elevated pattern via calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC)-mediated capacitive Ca(2+) entry, and stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1)- and Orai1-deficient cells are resistant to oxidant stress. Functionally, oxidant-induced Ca(2+) entry alters mitochondrial Ca(2+) handling and bioenergetics and triggers cell death. STIM1 is S-glutathionylated at cysteine 56 in response to …

Optimal Bone Strength And Mineralization Requires The Type 2 Iodothyronine Deiodinase In Osteoblasts, J. H. D. Bassett, Alan Boyde, Peter G. T. Howell, Richard H. Bassett, Thomas M. Galliford, Marta Archanco, Holly Evans, Michelle A. Lawson, Peter Croucher, Donald L. St. Germain, Valerie A. Galton, Graham R. Williams

Dartmouth Scholarship

Hypothyroidism and thyrotoxicosis are each associated with an increased risk of fracture. Although thyroxine (T4) is the predominant circulating thyroid hormone, target cell responses are determined by local intracellular availability of the active hormone 3,5,3'-L-triiodothyronine (T3), which is generated from T4 by the type 2 deiodinase enzyme (D2). To investigate the role of locally produced T3 in bone, we characterized mice deficient in D2 (D2KO) in which the serum T3 level is normal. Bones from adult D2KO mice have reduced toughness and are brittle, displaying an increased susceptibility to fracture. This phenotype is characterized by a 50% reduction in bone …

Acat1 Gene Ablation Increases 24(S)-Hydroxycholesterol Content In The Brain And Ameliorates Amyloid Pathology In Mice With Ad, Elena Y. Bryleva, Maximillian A. Rogers, Catherine C. Y. Chang, Floyd Buen

Dartmouth Scholarship

Cholesterol metabolism has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases, including the abnormal accumulation of amyloid-beta, one of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer disease (AD). Acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferases (ACAT1 and ACAT2) are two enzymes that convert free cholesterol to cholesteryl esters. ACAT inhibitors have recently emerged as promising drug candidates for AD therapy. However, how ACAT inhibitors act in the brain has so far remained unclear. Here we show that ACAT1 is the major functional isoenzyme in the mouse brain. ACAT1 gene ablation (A1-) in triple transgenic (i.e., 3XTg-AD) mice leads to more than 60% reduction in full-length human …

Progressive Changes In Microglia And Macrophages In Spinal Cord And Peripheral Nerve In The Transgenic Rat Model Of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, David J. Graber, William F. Hickey, Brent T. Harris

Dartmouth Scholarship

The role of neuroinflammation in motor neuron death of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is unclear. The human mutant superoxide dismutase-1 (hmSOD1)-expressing murine transgenic model of ALS has provided some insight into changes in microglia activity during disease progression. The purpose of this study was to gain further knowledge by characterizing the immunological changes during disease progression in the spinal cord and peripheral nerve using the more recently developed hmSOD1 rat transgenic model of ALS. Using immunohistochemistry, the extent and intensity of tissue CD11b expression in spinal cord, lumbar nerve roots, and sciatic nerve were evaluated in hmSOD1 rats that were …

Imaging Spontaneous Mmtvneu Transgenic Murine Mammary Tumors: Targeting Metabolic Activity Versus Genetic Products., Mathew L Thakur, Devakumar Devadhas, Kaijun Zhang, Richard G Pestell, Chenguang Wang, Peter Mccue, Eric Wickstrom

Department of Radiology Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Despite the great strides made in imaging breast cancer (BC) in humans, the current imaging modalities miss up to 30% of BC, do not distinguish malignant lesions from benign ones, and require histologic examinations for which invasive biopsy must be performed. Annually in the United States, approximately 5.6 million biopsies find benign lesions. More than 50% of human BCs overexpress cyclin D1, and all BCs exhibit VPAC1 oncogene products. Together, these gene products may provide an excellent biomarker for the early and accurate detection of BC. We have evaluated 4 biologically active peptide analogs that have high affinity for …

Sustained Expression Of Tdp-43 And Fus In Motor Neurons In Rodent's Lifetime., Cao Huang, Pedro Yuxing Xia, Hongxia Zhou

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) and fused in sarcoma (FUS) are two highly conserved ribonucleoproteins. Pathogenic mutations of the TDP-43 or the FUS gene are all linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that is characterized by progressive degeneration of motor neurons. To better understand the correlation of ALS disease genes with the selectivity of chronic motor neuron degeneration, we examined the longitudinal expression of the TDP-43 and the FUS genes in C57BL6 mice and in Sprague-Dawley rats. TDP-43 and FUS were robustly and ubiquitously expressed in the postnatal mice and rats, but were markedly decreased in the adult rodents. In adulthood, …

Il-9 As A Mediator Of Th17-Driven Inflammatory Disease, Elizabeth C. Nowak, Casey T. Weaver, Henrietta Turner, Sakhina Begum-Haque, Burkhard Becher, Bettina Schreiner, Anthony J. Coyle, Lloyd H. Kasper, Randolph J. Noelle

Dartmouth Scholarship

We report that like other T cells cultured in the presence of transforming growth factor (TGF) beta, Th17 cells also produce interleukin (IL) 9. Th17 cells generated in vitro with IL-6 and TGF-beta as well as purified ex vivo Th17 cells both produced IL-9. To determine if IL-9 has functional consequences in Th17-mediated inflammatory disease, we evaluated the role of IL-9 in the development and progression of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. The data show that IL-9 neutralization and IL-9 receptor deficiency attenuates disease, and this correlates with decreases in Th17 cells and IL-6-producing macrophages in …

Developing Tta Transgenic Rats For Inducible And Reversible Gene Expression., Hongxia Zhou, Cao Huang, Min Yang, Carlisle P Landel, Pedro Yuxing Xia, Yong-Jian Liu, Xu Gang Xia

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

To develop transgenic lines for conditional expression of desired genes in rats, we generated several lines of the transgenic rats carrying the tetracycline-controlled transactivator (tTA) gene. Using a vigorous, ubiquitous promoter to drive the tTA transgene, we obtained widespread expression of tTA in various tissues. Expression of tTA was sufficient to strongly activate its reporter gene, but was below the toxicity threshold. We examined the dynamics of Doxycycline (Dox)-regulated gene expression in transgenic rats. In the two transmittable lines, tTA-mediated activation of the reporter gene was fully subject to regulation by Dox. Dox dose-dependently suppressed tTA-activated gene expression. The washout …