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Objective The basic biological, echocardiography and gene sequencing parameters of mice overexpressing Slit2 gene (Slit2-Tg mice) were collected and evaluated, and to provide a reference for the application of Slit2-Tg mice in biomedical research. Methods Slit2-Tg and C57BL/6 J mice were inbred. The genotypes of the mice were determined by a PCR assay. The blood samples were collected for blood routine and biochemical tests. The tissues of main organs were collected for protein expression and pathological analysis. Echocardiography and transcriptome sequencing was carried out for analyzing the heart function and gene expression, respectively. Results The litter size was significantly higher in the Slit2-Tg mice than in C57BL/6 J mice. Human Slit2 gene and protein expressions were detected in the main organs of Slit2-Tg mice. Organ coefficient of spleen was significantly increased in Slit2-Tg mice, but the tissue structure appeared normal. There were significant changes in the counts of erythrocytes, platelets, eosinophils, and biochemistry of glucose, globulin, urea nitrogen, triglycerides, HDL, and atherosclerosis index. Echocardiography showed no significant differences in the morphology and function of the Slit2-Tg hearts except in the left ventricular anterior wall thickness at the end-diastolic state. Compared with the C57BL/6 J mice, 535 genes out of 17513 genes in the Slit2-Tg hearts were increased or decreased, mainly involving 15 biological process or signal transduction pathways. Conclusions This study has collected the biological parameters of Slit2-Tg mice and suggests that this model animal is suitable for the studies of cardiovascular diseases.
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Objective To establish a mouse model of diethylnitrosamine(DEN)-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC),and to explore the effects of two different diet formulas on the establishment of DEN-induced HCC model.Methods SPF C57BL/6 mice (8 males and 8 females) were injected intraperitoneally with 25 mg/kg DEN at day 14 to establish a HCC model.The mice were divided into two groups after weaning.One group was fed with the SPF class rodents cereal-based diet,another group was fed with AIN-93G formula diet.The mice were sacrificed at the age of 9 months.The livers were weighed and the growth of liver cancer was observed and recorded.Results All the mice in the cereal-based diet group developed HCC as expected.The body weight and liver mass of the mice in the AIN-93G diet group were significantly lower than that of the cereal-based diet group.The incidence of HCC,and the number and size of tumor nodules were also significantly lower in the AIN-93G diet group than that in the cereal-based diet group.Conclusions DEN-induced HCC model has been successfully established in mice fed with cereal-based diet,while mice fed with AIN93-G diet prevented the development of DEN-induced HCC,and their body weight was decreased significantly,suggesting that dietary factors play a key role in establishment of animal disease models.
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Objective To provide a basis for clinical diagnosis,a serum metabonomic dynamic study was carried out on the Tg2576 mouse model at different stages of Alzheimer's disease(AD) whose pathological progress is similar to that of human AD patients.Methods Serum samples of Tg2576 mice were collected at the early(6 months) and late(12 months) stages of Alzheimer's disease.The 1H NMR spectra of the serum samples were collected and the metabolic characteristics were analyzed by multivariate analysis.Results Significant differences in serum metabonomics were found in the transgenic Tg2576 mice and C57 mice at 6 and 12 months of age,and there were significant metabolic changes in Tg2576 mice at different stages of Alzheimer's disease.Compared with C57 mice,the Tg2576 mice at early stage of Alzheimer's disease showed higher levels of serum lactate,myo-inositol and amino acids(such as leucine,isoleucine,alanine),and lower levels of lipids,choline,phosphorylcholine,glycerol phosphorglcholine,betaine,glycine and glucose.At the late stage of Alzheimer's disease,the transgenic Tg2576 mice had higher levels of lactate,myo-inositol and alanine,while the serum levels of lipids,choline,phosphorylcholine,glycerophosphorylcholine,betaine,and glycine continued to drop.Meanwhile glutamine and creatine levels started to decline.By comparing the early and late serum metabolites of Alzheimer's disease,serum metabonomic profiles of the late stage of Alzheimer's disease indicated an up-regulation of lactate,myo-inositol and alanine,and a down-regulation of lipids,choline,phosphorylcholine and glycerophosphorylcholinelevels.Moreover,the levels of lactate,lipids,choline,phosphorylcholine and glycerophosphorylcholine showed statistical significance at the early stage of AD,and they were closely correlated with the severity of Alzheimer's disease.Conclusions The above results show that the changes of lactate,myo-inositol and alanine are positively-correlated with the development of AD,while the serum levels of lipids,choline,phosphorylcholine and glycerophosphorylcholine are inversely-proportional to the severity of AD.These metabolites are dynamically and progressively changed along with the disease progression,which hopefully may serve as early metabolic markers for the diagnosis of AD in clinical practice.
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