Sle1 is a major susceptibility locus in the NZM2410 murine model of systemic lupus erythematosus. When isolated on a C57BL/6 background in the B6.Sle1 congenic strain, Sle1 results in the production of high levels of anti-chromatin IgG Abs, histone-specific T cells, and increased B and T cell activation. We have shown by mixed bone marrow chimeras with allotypic markers that Sle1 is expressed i...

Streptococcus suis type 2 (SS2) is an important swine pathogen and zoonosis agent. A/J mice are significantly more susceptible than C57BL/6 (B6) mice to SS2 infection, but the genetic basis is largely unknown. Here, alterations in gene expression in SS2 (strain HA9801)-infected mice were identified using Illumina mouse BeadChips. Microarray analysis revealed 3,692 genes differentially expressed...

Mice deficient in two glutathione peroxidases (GPX), Gpx1 and Gpx2, [Gpx1/2-double knockout (DKO) mice] are prone to ileocolitis on a mixed C57BL/6 and 129S1/SvJ (B6.129) genetic background. We reported previously that approximately 25% of B6.129 Gpx1/2-DKO mice develop ileocolonic tumors by 6 to 9 months of age, when their non-DKO littermates [having at least one wild-type (WT) Gpx1 or Gpx2 al...

It is well known that genes and environment interact to produce behavioral phenotypes. One environmental factor with long-term effects on gene transcription and behavior is maternal care. A classic paradigm for examining maternal care and genetic interactions is to foster pups of one genetic strain to dams of a different strain ("between-strain fostering"). In addition, fostering to a dam of th...

There has been increasing interest in the involvement of mammalian homeobox (HOX) genes in hematopoietic regulation. The HOX genes are clustered in 4 chromosomes in mice and humans. In general, 5' end HOX gene expression is predominant in hematopoietic stem cell populations, whereas 3' end HOX gene expression are primarily found in committed progenitor cells. Furthermore, HOX genes of the A clu...

Vitamin B6 has sometimes been referred to as a ‘vitamin without a deficiency’. Non-specific clinical symptoms and functional losses, such as compromised haem synthesis, immunocompetence and electroencephalographic (EEG) abnormalities, have been observed in experimental (depletion) studies, but ‘spontaneous’ cases of clinical vitamin B6 deficiency in man are rare (for review, see Leklem, 1991; B...

Differences in breathing pattern between awake C57BL/6J (B6) and A/J mice are such that A/J mice breathe slower, deeper, and with greater variability than B6. We theorized that urethane anesthesia, by affecting cortical and subcortical function, would test the hypothesis that strain differences require a fully functional neuroaxis. We anesthetized B6 and A/J mice with urethane, placed them in a...

The lpr gene induces marked lymphoproliferation characterized by the massive accumulation of T cells of an unusual phenotype and concomitant autoimmune disease. To clarify the mechanism of the lpr effect, bone marrow cells from B6-lpr/lpr (Ly-1.2) and B6-+/+ (Ly-1.1) mice were transferred into lethally irradiated B6-lpr/lpr mice. As has been previously reported, recipients of the B6-lpr/lpr bon...