The interplay of environmental and genetic factors may lead to a spectrum of physiological and behavioral outcomes. How environmental stress factors interact with the diverse mouse genomes is still poorly understood and elucidating the underlying interactions requires specific stress models that can target integrated physiological systems. Here, we employ behavioral tests and whole-body plethys...

In response to light, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) generates a series of slow potentials that can be recorded as the c-wave, fast oscillation (FO), and light peak (LP) of the electroretinogram (ERG). As these potentials can be related to specific cellular events, they provide information about RPE function and how that may be altered by disease or experimental manipulation. In the prese...

Social stress may precipitate psychopathological disorders in susceptible individuals. The present experiments were focused on the biology beyond the differential susceptibility to social stress. Social defeat, an ethologically relevant stressor known to elicit different coping strategies, was used in two mouse strains differing for baseline emotionality, such as C57BL6/J and BalbC. In separate...

Graves' disease (GD) is an autoimmune condition in which goitre and hyperthyroidism are induced by thyroid stimulating antibodies (TSAB) which mimic the action of thyrotrophin (TSH). The target of the autoimmune response is the thyrotrophin receptor (TSHR) and, since its cloning, a number of differing approaches have been adopted in an attempt to develop an animal model of GD. Methods in which ...

We investigated glucose tolerance and left ventricular contractile performance in 4 frequently used mouse strains (Swiss, C57BL/6J, DBA2, and BalbC) at 24 weeks. Glucose tolerance was tested by measuring blood glucose levels in time after intraperitoneal glucose injection (2 mg/g body weight). Left ventricular contractility was assessed by pressure-conductance analysis. Peak glucose levels and ...

This study evaluates the effects of anesthesia and fluid support on hemodynamic parameters of the mechanically ventilated mouse of four different strains. All experiments were performed at a similar surgical level of anesthesia, as indicated by the probing of the pedal withdrawal reflex. Three anesthetic regimens [fentanyl-fluanisone-midazolam (FFM), ketamine-medetomidine-atropine (KMA), and is...

The understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the immune tolerance induced by the tumoral microenvironment is fundamental to prevent cancer development or to treat cancer patients using immunotherapy. Actually, there are investigations about "addressed-drugs" against cancer cells without affecting normal cells. It could be ideal to find selective and specific compounds that only recognize an...