Laboratory rat strains descend from Wistar rats as a consequence of artificial selection. Previously we reported that the medial posterior division of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTMP) was sexually dimorphic in Wistar and Long-Evans strains while the medial anterior division (BSTMA) and the locus coeruleus (LC) only showed sex differences in the ancestor Wistar strain. The lateral...

Background. Many investigators have observed differences in the susceptibility to induce intestinal tumors by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) between various strains of rodents. The results are difficult to compare because of the different regimes used for induction. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the influence of strain on DMH-induced intestinal tumors between Wistar and Fischer rats. Ma...

The interplay of specific leukocyte subpopulations, resident cells and proalgesic mediators results in pain in inflammation. Proalgesic mediators like reactive oxygen species (ROS) and downstream products elicit pain by stimulation of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. The contribution of leukocyte subpopulations however is less clear. Local injection of neutrophilic chemokines elicit...

The effect of chronic angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibition on the pressure-natriuresis relation was studied in Wistar-Kyoto and spontaneously hypertensive rats. Enalapril maleate (25 mgkg"'day"' in drinking water) was started at 4-5 weeks of age. At 7-9 weeks of age, the pressure-natriuresis relation was studied while the rats were under Inactin anesthesia 1 week after the right kidney an...

Hippocampal synaptic plasticity is believed to comprise the cellular basis for spatial learning. Strain-dependent differences in synaptic plasticity in the CA1 region have been reported. However, it is not known whether these differences extend to other synapses within the trisynaptic circuit, although there is evidence for morphological variations within that path. We investigated whether Wist...

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients conditioned with cyclophosphamide (CY) and total body irradiation have substantially greater risk of nonrelapse mortality when plasma area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of O-carboxyethylcyclophosphoramide mustard (CEPM) is high. The discovery was paradoxical because CEPM is a nontoxic elimination route of the protoxic CY metabolite hyd...

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to examine if differences in the endocannabinoid (ECB) system might be linked to strain specific variations in reward-related behavior in Fischer344 (Fischer) and Wistar rats. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Two rat strains, the Fischer and the Wistar strain, were tested for different aspects of reward sensitivity for a palatable food reward (sweeten...

OBJECTIVE The hypothesis that hypertension induces a hypercoagulable state arises from the complications associated with hypertension: stroke and myocardial infarction. Here, we determine whether hypertension causes changes in the thrombin-generating capacity of the vascular wall. APPROACH AND RESULTS We used spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) compared with Wistar rats. The addition of tho...

There are differences in the susceptibility of rat strains to pituitary growth and lactotroph proliferation caused by long-term treatment with estrogens. To investigate the pituitary mechanism for this strain difference in estrogen-induced lactotroph proliferation, we compared the abilities of 17-β estradiol (E2) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) to modulate lactotroph proliferation and ...

Because angiotensin (Ang) metabolites mediate functions independent of Ang II, we investigated their effects on coronary flow in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Results were compared with those in the iliac artery and abdominal aorta and the coronary circulation of the Wistar rat. Ang II, III, and IV decreased coronary flow in SHRs and Wistar rats, with Ang III and IV being approximatel...