Project description:Insertions of endogenous retroviruses cause a significant fraction of mutations in inbred mice but not all strains are equally susceptible. Notably, most new Intracisternal A particle (IAP) ERV mutagenic insertions have occurred in C3H mice. We show here that strain-specific insertionally polymorphic IAPs have accumulated faster in C3H/HeJ mice relative to other strains and that IAP transcript levels are higher in C3H/HeJ embryonic stem (ES) cells compared to other ES cells. To investigate the mechanism for high IAP activity in C3H mice, we identified 61 IAP copies in C3H/HeJ ES cells enriched for H3K4me3 (a mark of active promoters) and, among those tested, all are unmethylated in C3H ES cells. Notably, 13 of the 61 are specific to C3H/HeJ and are members of the non-autonomous 1Δ1 IAP subfamily that is responsible for nearly all new insertions in C3H. One copy is full length with intact open reading frames and hence potentially capable of providing proteins in trans to other 1Δ1 elements. This potential “master copy” is present in other strains, including 129, but its 5’ long terminal repeat (LTR) is methylated in 129 ES cells. Thus, the unusual IAP activity in C3H may be due to reduced epigenetic repression coupled with the presence of a master copy.
Project description:Our goal was to develop a transcriptomic description of affected alopecic skin from aged C3H/HeJ mice. Affected skin from 3 mice was compared to skin from similarly aged but unaffected C3H/HeJ mice.
Project description:Gene expression profiling reveals a potential role of Tieghemelin and Maslinic acid in stimulating hair growth in C3H mice. C3H male mice are a model for hair growth, treated with 1% Tieghemelin, 1% Maslinic acid and 1% Minoxidil for 20 days. Microarray gene expression profiling was conducted for two biological replicates
Project description:The C3H/HeJ grafted model of alopecia areata was used to determine the efficacy of systemic baricitinib at preventing alopecia or treating established disease. The efficacy of topical baricitinib at treating established alopecia in the C3H/HeJ grafted model was also assessed. Microarrays were performed on skin RNA at week 0 and week 12 after starting treatment in all models.
Project description:The C3H/HeJ grafted model of alopecia areata was used to determine the efficacy of systemic baricitinib at preventing alopecia or treating established disease. The efficacy of topical baricitinib at treating established alopecia in the C3H/HeJ grafted model was also assessed. Microarrays were performed on skin RNA at week 0 and week 12 after starting treatment in all models.
Project description:The C3H/HeJ grafted model of alopecia areata was used to determine the efficacy of systemic baricitinib at preventing alopecia or treating established disease. The efficacy of topical baricitinib at treating established alopecia in the C3H/HeJ grafted model was also assessed. Microarrays were performed on skin RNA at week 0 and week 12 after starting treatment in all models.
Project description:It is unclear what role vision plays in guiding mouse behaviour, since the mouse eye is of comparably low optical quality, and mice are considered to rely primarily on other senses. All C3H substrains are homozygous for the Pde6b(rd1) mutation and get blind by weaning age. To study the impact of the Pde6b(rd1) mutation on mouse behaviour and physiology, sighted C3H (C3H.Pde6b+) and normal C3H/HeH mice were phenotyped for different aspects. We confirmed retinal degeneration 1 in C3H/HeH mice, and the presence of a morphologically normal retina as well as visual ability in C3H.Pde6b+ mice. However, C3H.Pde6b+ mice showed an abnormal retinal function in the electroretinogram response, indicating that their vision was not normal as expected. C3H.Pde6b+ mice showed reduced latencies for several behaviours without any further alterations in these behaviours in comparison to C3H/HeH mice, suggesting that visual ability, although impaired, enables earlier usage of the behavioural repertoire in a novel environment, but does not lead to increased activity levels. These results emphasize the importance of comprehensive behavioural and physiological phenotyping.