Two different metallothionein promoter-mouse CD14 fusion genes were constructed. The membrane form of the CD14 fusion gene, designated M14M, contained the full-length CD14 cDNA sequence, whereas the soluble form of the fusion gene, designated M14S, was truncated to lack the sequence for the phosphatidylinositol-anchoring site. Expression of transgenic RNA in M14M and M14S mice on the basal diet...

This study provides a comprehensive behavioral characterization during aging of transgenic mice bearing both presenilin-1 (PS1) and amyloid precursor protein (APP(670,671)) mutations. Doubly transgenic mice and non-transgenic controls were evaluated at ages wherein beta-amyloid (Abeta) neuropathology in APP+PS1 mice is low (5-7 months) or very extensive (15-17 months). Progressive cognitive imp...

Aging of transgenic mice that overexpress the London mutant of amyloid precursor protein (APP/V717I) (Moechars et al., 1999a) was now demonstrated not to affect the normalized levels of alpha- or beta-cleaved secreted APP nor of the beta-C-terminal stubs. This indicated that aging did not markedly disturb either alpha- or beta-secretase cleavage of APP and failed to explain the origin of the ma...

The mechanisms responsible for cytokine-mediated antiviral effects are not fully understood. We approached this problem by studying the outcome of intraocular herpes simplex (HSV) infection in transgenic mice that express interferon gamma in the photoreceptor cells of the retina. These transgenic mice showed selective survival from lethal HSV-2 infection manifested in both eyes, the optic nerve...

Islet amyloid contributes to loss of beta-cell mass and function in type 2 diabetes. It is poorly understood how the building block of amyloid, islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), misfolds and accumulates within the islet to contribute to cellular dysfunction. We sought to determine whether neprilysin, an amyloid-degrading enzyme, is present in islets and plays a role in the accumulation of amylo...

Doubly transgenic mAPP1mPS1 mice (15–16 months) had impaired cognitive function in a spatial learning and memory task that combined features of a water maze and a radial arm maze. Nontransgenic mice learned a new platform location each day during 4 consecutive acquisition trials, and exhibited memory for this location in a retention trial administered 30 min later. In contrast, transgenic mice ...

BACKGROUND To determine whether a higher level of copper zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) can reduce the severity of oxygen induced retinopathy (OIR) in a mouse model. METHODS CuZnSOD transgenic mice with a threefold increase in CuZnSOD activity and control non-transgenic mice were exposed to 90% oxygen for 12 hours a day during the first 5 days of life. After oxygen treatment, all mice we...

Mononuclear phagocytes consisting of monocytes, macrophages, and DCs play a complex role in tumor development by either promoting or restricting growth. Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common nonmelanoma skin cancer arising from transformed epidermal keratinocytes. While present at high numbers, tumor-infiltrating resident myeloid cells formation cSCC largely unknown...

Galanin overexpressing transgenic mice (GAL-tg) were generated on two different promoters. Both lines of GAL-tg displayed high levels of galanin in the hippocampus and reduced sensitivity to seizures, as compared to their respective wildtype littermate controls (WT). Performance deficits on learning and memory tasks, impaired long-term potentiation, reduced hippocampal excitability, lower evoke...