Project description:BALB/c mice develop peripheral arthritis (PGIA) and spondyloarthropathy (PGIS) upon repeated intraperitoneal injections of human cartilage proteoglycan (PG) aggrecan. The aim of the present study was to identify spondylitis-specific genes by comparing intervertebral disc (IVD) RNA samples from spondyloarthropathic and naïve BALB/c mice. Keywords: Genetic modification
Project description:BALB/c mice develop peripheral arthritis (PGIA) and spondyloarthropathy (PGIS) upon repeated intraperitoneal injections of human cartilage proteoglycan (PG) aggrecan. The aim of the present study was to identify spondylitis-specific genes by comparing intervertebral disc (IVD) RNA samples from spondyloarthropathic and naM-CM-/ve BALB/c mice. Keywords: Genetic modification We compared the gene expression data of 5 spondyloarthropathic and 3 naM-CM-/ve (control) mice.
Project description:OBJECTIVES: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is unique in its pathology where inflammation commences at the entheses before progressing to an osteoproliferative phenotype generating excessive bone formation that can result in joint fusion. The underlying mechanisms of this progression are poorly understood. Using the proteoglycan-induced spondylitis mouse (PGISp) model which displays spondylitis and eventual joint fusion following an initial inflammatory stimulus, we have characterised the structural and molecular changes that underlie disease progression METHODS: PGISp mice were characterised 12 weeks after initiation of inflammation using expression profiling. RESULTS: Microarray profiling showed genes involved in inflammation and immune-regulation were altered. Further, a number of genes specifically involved in bone regulation including other members of the Wnt pathway were also dysregulated. CONCLUSION: This study implicates the Wnt pathway as a likely mediator of the mechanism by which inflammation induces bony ankylosis in spondyloarthritis, raising the potential that therapies targeting this pathway may be effective in preventing this process. 4 unaffected spines vs. 4 spines from PGISp-affected mice
Project description:BALB/c mice are susceptible to proteoglycan (PG) aggrecan-induced arthritis (PGIA), a murine model of rheumatoid arthritis (Glant,T.T. and Mikecz,K., Proteoglycan aggrecan-induced arthritis. A murine autoimmune model of rheumatoid arthritis. Methods Mol.Med. 2004. 102: 313-338.). However, there are marked differences among BALB/c colonies (maintained by different vendors at different locations) in PGIA onset and severity, which could be the result of subtle variations in their genetic background. In the present microarray study, we have identified differences among BALB/c colonies, and an altered immunization-related gene expression pattern in PGIA model. Keywords: Genetic modification
Project description:Introgressed variants from other species can be an important source of genetic variation because they may arise rapidly, can include multiple mutations on a single haplotype, and have often been pretested by selection in the species of origin. Although introgressed alleles are generally deleterious, several studies have reported introgression as the source of adaptive alleles-including the rodenticide-resistant variant of Vkorc1 that introgressed from Mus spretus into European populations of Mus musculus domesticus. Here, we conducted bidirectional genome scans to characterize introgressed regions into one wild population of M. spretus from Spain and three wild populations of M. m. domesticus from France, Germany, and Iran. Despite the fact that these species show considerable intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation, introgression was observed in all individuals, including in the M. musculus reference genome (GRCm38). Mus spretus individuals had a greater proportion of introgression compared with M. m. domesticus, and within M. m. domesticus, the proportion of introgression decreased with geographic distance from the area of sympatry. Introgression was observed on all autosomes for both species, but not on the X-chromosome in M. m. domesticus, consistent with known X-linked hybrid sterility and inviability genes that have been mapped to the M. spretus X-chromosome. Tract lengths were generally short with a few outliers of up to 2.7 Mb. Interestingly, the longest introgressed tracts were in olfactory receptor regions, and introgressed tracts were significantly enriched for olfactory receptor genes in both species, suggesting that introgression may be a source of functional novelty even between species with high barriers to gene flow.
Project description:BALB/c mice are susceptible to proteoglycan (PG) aggrecan-induced arthritis (PGIA), a murine model of rheumatoid arthritis (Glant,T.T. and Mikecz,K., Proteoglycan aggrecan-induced arthritis. A murine autoimmune model of rheumatoid arthritis. Methods Mol.Med. 2004. 102: 313-338.). However, there are marked differences among BALB/c colonies (maintained by different vendors at different locations) in PGIA onset and severity, which could be the result of subtle variations in their genetic background. In the present microarray study, we have identified differences among BALB/c colonies, and an altered immunization-related gene expression pattern in PGIA model. Experiment Overall Design: In this study we compared the gene expression profile of 12 spleens from PG-immunized (RNA was isolated 12 days after immunization) and naive mice from BALB/cJ and BALB/cByJ colonies (3-3 from each group), then made comparisons between colonies and based on immunization.
Project description:We collected whole genome testis expression data from hybrid zone mice. We integrated GWAS mapping of testis expression traits and low testis weight to gain insight into the genetic basis of hybrid male sterility.