ABSTRACT
A spontaneous mutation 'tich' (gene symbol tch) appeared as a recessive mutation in inbred mice of strain A. TL. Homozygotes are rather dumpy mice of approximately normal weight but with short limbs and tail. Skeletal measurements on backcross siblings show that the mandible bones are almost normal but long bones and some parts of the pelvic and pectoral girdles are short. Although tich resembles brachypodism phenotypically it is not linked to agouti, and does not match the description of any other skeletal mutation. There was some evidence for weak linkage with albinism on chromosome 7. The mutation has reappeared amongst the A. TL mice of a UK commercial breeder and may have been accepted as the norm for A. TL amongst some European users of this mouse.
Subject(s)
Bone Development/genetics , Mice, Mutant Strains/genetics , Animals , Crosses, Genetic , Female , Genes, Recessive , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred A/geneticsABSTRACT
Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were mated with Munich-Wistar rats (MW), and the F1 hybrids were called Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM) rats. The EPM rats present spontaneous hypertension and superficial glomeruli, allowing a study of glomerular haemodynamics. Mean whole kidney (GFR) and single nephron glomerular filtration rate (SNGFR), and mean total and glomerular plasma flow, were similar in EPM and MW rats. However, a higher glomerular capillary hydraulic pressure and a reduced ultrafiltration coefficient (Kf) of EPM rats were observed. The glomerular hypertension may be the cause of low Kf, a possible initial lesion of glomerular sclerosis. When mean arterial pressure levels were reduced to about 90 mmHg, a maintenance of SNGFR, with a 40% reduction in GFR, in EPM rats were achieved, suggesting an autoregulatory mechanism in the superficial but not in the juxtamedullary nephrons. The decrease on urinary sodium excretion (UNaV) in this condition, which was also lower than in MW rats, showed an impaired sodium handling by EPM kidneys, a possible role in the hypertension genesis. Thus, the data suggest that EPM rats can be a useful model for glomerular haemodynamics and microcirculatory studies in the spontaneously hypertensive state.
Subject(s)
Hypertension/genetics , Kidney Glomerulus/physiopathology , Rats, Inbred SHR/physiology , Rats, Inbred Strains/physiology , Renal Circulation , Animals , Blood Pressure , Glomerular Filtration Rate , Hypertension/physiopathology , RatsABSTRACT
The breeding of imported strains of isogenic rats was started in 1981 because of the lack of experimental rat models in Brazil. The imported strains were: Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) and their normotensive controls Wistar Kyoto Rats (WKY) from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, and Munich Wistar (MW) rats which present superficial renal glomeruli, from Simonsen Laboratories, Gilroy, CA. Breeding of these strains was carried out without strict barriers (conventional breeding), under Standard Operating Procedures and strict inbreeding. Environmental factors such as ration, light, temperature, type of shavings and bedding, size of cages and their population were constant. Body weight growth curves were constructed for the three strains. The productivity of imported rats and local breeding colonies in 1981, 1982 and 1983 was compared on the basis of the following parameters: mean litter size, productivity of the females, pre- and post-weaning mortality, and effective yield. Systolic blood pressure was also measured for SHR and WKY rats. MW rats showed a high and relatively stable reproduction performance. The productivity of SHR and especially WKY animals declined progressively during the first three years, making the breeding of these strains of isogenic rats very difficult.
