Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a common X-linked disease characterized by widespread muscle damage that invariably leads to paralysis and death. There is currently no therapy for this disease. This study was purposed to investigate the feasibility to use adult adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) in the therapy of DMD. The Flk-1(+) MSCs were isolated from adipose tissue of adult GFP mice; the phenotype and cell cycle of MSCs were analyzed by flow cytometry; the AD-MSCs were directionally differentiated by myoblast and endotheliablast induction system in vitro and were identified by immumofluorecence staining and RT-PCR; the AD-MSCs were transplanted into CTX-injured mice model or mdx mice (DMD animal model) through tail vein; the distribution and differentiation of AD-MSCs were detected by immunofluorescence staining and RT-PCR respectively, and statistic analysis was performed. The results showed that the Flk-1(+) AD-MSCs could be induced to differentiate into myoblasts and endothelial cells in vitro. After transplanted into CTX-injured mice model or mdx mice, GFP-positive cells could be detected in damaged muscle, and these donor-derived cells were also positive for MHC, vWF, or Pax7. Flk-1(+) AD-MSC transplantation also partly reconstituted the expression of dystrophin, and reduced the percentage of centronucleated myofibers in mdx mice. It is concluded that Flk-1(+) AD-MSCs represent a possible tool for future cell therapy applications in DMD disease, as they can be delivered through the circulation for their potential of muscle homing. And Flk-1(+) AD-MSCs also show the ability to contribute to muscle repair, improvement of blood supply and long term reconstitution of dystrophy muscle.
Adipose Tissue ; cytology ; Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; Cells, Cultured ; Dystrophin ; biosynthesis ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Inbred mdx ; Mice, Transgenic ; Muscle Cells ; cytology ; Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne ; pathology ; therapy ; Myoblasts ; cytology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the dynamic changes of dystrophin expression in mdx mice after bone marrow stem cells transplantation.

METHODSThe bone marrow stem cells of C57 BL/6 mice (aged 6 to 8 weeks) were injected intravenously into the mdx mice (aged 7 to 9 weeks), which were preconditioned with 7Gy gamma ray. The amount of dystrophin;expression in gastrocnemius was detected by immunofluorescence, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot at week 5, 8, 12 and 16 after transplantation.

RESULTSAt week 5 after bone marrow stem cells transplantation, the dystrophin expression detected in mdx mice were very low; however, its expression increased along with time. At week 16 week, about 12% muscle cells of all transplanted mice expressed dystrophin. There were less centrally placed myonuclei than the control mdx mice, whereas peripheral myonuclei increased.

CONCLUSIONSAfter having been injected into mdx mice, the allogenic bone marrow stem cells have a trend to reach the injured muscle tissues and differentiate to fibers that can express dystrophin and the expression increased with time. The bone marrow stem cells participates in the repair and regeneration of the injured tissues permanently and constantly.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; Cell Differentiation ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dystrophin ; biosynthesis ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Inbred mdx ; Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne ; metabolism ; surgery ; Transplantation, Homologous

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of bone marrow stem cell transplantation (BMT) on the diaphragm muscles of mdx mice, a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

METHODSThe bone marrow-derived stem cells form male SD rats was transplanted through the tail vein into 18 female 8-week-old mdx mice, which were sacrificed at 4, 8 and 12 weeks after BMT (6 at each time point), respectively. The diaphragm muscles of the mice were subjected to HE staining, immunofluorescence detection of dystrophin, reverse transcription (RT)-PCR analysis of dystrophin mRNA transcripts and PCR analysis of Sry (sex-determining region on the Y chromosome) gene, with age-matched female C57 mice and untreated mdx mice as the controls.

RESULTSThe proportion of centrally nucleated fibers (CNF) in the diaphragm muscle of the recipient mdx mice was (15.58+/-0.91) %, (12.50+/-1.87) % and (10.17+/-1.17) % at 4, 8 and 12 weeks after BMT, respectively, significantly smaller than that of untreated mdx mice [(19.5+/-1.87) %], and the fibers after BMT showed less inflammatory infiltration. Compared with the untreated mice, the recipient mdx mice showed green fluorescence on significantly more diaphragm muscle cell membranes [with the proportion of dystrophin-positive fibers of (1.00+/-0.32) %, (6.00+/-1.05) % and (11.92+/-1.11) % at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after BMT]. RT-PCR of dystrophin mRNA also demonstrated significantly higher relative levels of dystrophin in the recipient mdx mice (0.19+/-0.05, 0.26+/-0.06 and 0.36+/-0.04 at 4, 8 and 12 weeks after BMT) than in untreated mdx mice, and Sry gene was present in the recipient mice.

CONCLUSIONBMT can partially restore dystrophin expression and ameliorate the pathology in the diaphragm muscles of mdx mice, and has great potential to produce general therapeutic effect in patients with DMD.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; methods ; Diaphragm ; metabolism ; pathology ; Dystrophin ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Female ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Inbred mdx ; Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Transplantation, Heterologous

OBJECTIVETo investigate the differentiation of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into myocytes and their expression of dystrophin/utrophin after transplantation in mdx mice.

METHODSBrdU-labeled fifth-passage rat MSCs were transplanted in mdx mice with previous total body gamma irradiation (7 Gy). At 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks after the transplantation, the mice were sacrificed to detect dystrophin/BrdU and utrophin expressions in the gastrocnemius muscle using immunofluorescence assay, RT-PCR and Western blotting. Five normal C57 BL/6 mice and 5 mdx mice served as the positive and negative controls, respectively.

RESULTSFour weeks after MSC transplantation, less than 1% of the muscle fibers of the mdx mice expressed dystrophin, which increased to 15% at 16 weeks. Donor-derived nuclei were detected in both single and clusters of dystrophin-positive fibers. Some BrdU-positive nuclei were centrally located, and some peripherally within myofibers. Utrophin expression decreased over time after transplantation.

CONCLUSIONThe myofibers of mdx mice with MSC transplantation express dystrophin, which is derived partially from the transplanted MSCs. Dystrophin expression from the transplanted MSCs partially inhibits the upregulation of utrophin in mdx mouse muscle, showing a complementary relation between them.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; Cell Differentiation ; physiology ; Dystrophin ; genetics ; metabolism ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; cytology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Inbred mdx ; metabolism ; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal ; cytology ; metabolism ; Muscular Dystrophy, Animal ; metabolism ; therapy ; Rats ; Utrophin ; metabolism

This study was undertaken to investigate the change of ear swelling response (ESR) of the mice according to repetitive ultraviolet radiation. 100mJ/crn of UVB was irradiated daily for 4 weeks, and a total of 25 C57BL mice were used as subjects. The results were as follows : 1. After 1 day, 2 days and 3 days irradiation of UVB, ESR reached 21.3+/-1.5, 22.3+/-1.1 and 24.3+/-1.6 respectively with increasing tendency, but there was no statistical significance (Wilcoxon rank sum test p>0.05). 2. ESR reached at maximum, 78.0+/-1.8, after 1 week(p<0.01), thereafter ESR decreased gradually with reparative process. 3. Inspite of continued irradiation, ESR decreased gradually after 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks irradiation, ESR decreased to 51.6+/-11.8, 45.1+/- 3.3 and 42.8+/-6.8 respectively, but, there were still increment of ESR (p<0.01).
Animals ; Ear* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL* ; Skin*

Objective To investigate the role of OpenBCI module in the electroencephalographic (EEG) detection of epileptic discharge.Methods C57BL/6J mice aged 8-12 weeks were divided into two groups:the sham-operated group and kainic acid-induced epileptic group. Spontaneous seizures were monitored continuously for 3 weeks either by EEG or by OpenBCI.Results Up to 8 mice could be simultaneously monitored by OpenBCI. Meanwhile,the module accurately recorded the resting discharge,EEG spikes,and seizures.Conclusion Compared with the conventional brain function monitoring system,the OpenBCI module has lower cost and data occupancy and thus may be applied in clinical settings.
Animals ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy ; Kainic Acid ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Seizures

Objective To obtain the metabolome profiles in liver and serum of mice during normal aging. Methods The liver and serum samples of ten 2-month-old mice and ten 18-month-old C57BL/6J mice under physiological conditions were collected.Metabolites were identified and quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.The overall assessment,differential screening,and functional analysis were performed with the filtered high-quality data. Results In the negative-ion mode and positive-ion mode,242 and 399 metabolites were identified in the liver and 265 and 230 in serum,respectively.The difference of metabolome between young and old mice was moderate.The upregulated metabolites identified in aging liver were related to the metabolism of riboflavin,glucose,and arachidonic acid,while the downregulated ones were associated with the metabolism of pyrimidine,purine,glycerophospholipid,glutathione,and nicotinamide.Altered metabolites in serum during aging were involved in a variety of nucleic acid metabolism-related pathways,such as pyrimidine metabolism,purine metabolism,one carbon pool by folate,and amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism. Conclusions The metabolome profiles of mouse liver and serum both revealed dysregulated nucleic acid metabolism pathways during normal aging.This study provides metabolome data for further research on aging-associated mechanism and may support the discovery of intervention methods for aging.
Aging ; Animals ; Liver ; Metabolome ; Metabolomics ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL

Bupleuri Radix, serving as the sovereign medicinal in many antidepressant compound preparations, has been proved effective in treating depression in mice, but its effect on the intestinal flora remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of Bupleurum chinense(one of the original materials of Bupleuri Radix) on the behaviors and the diversity of intestinal flora of depressed mice. A depression mouse model was induced by repeated social defeat stress. Specifically, C57 BL/6 J male mice were exposed to the attack from the CD-1 mice. Then, C57 BL/6 J male mice were divided into a depression group and a B. chinense group, with normal saline and B. chinense administered(ig) respectively. Sucrose preference test and tail suspension test were conducted during and after the experiment respectively, to analyze the effects of B. chinense on the behaviors of the depressed mice. The feces were collected after the experiment. The V3-V4 16 S rDNA regions of intestinal flora of mice in each group were sequenced by Ion S5 TMXL for the analysis of the number of operational taxonomic units(OTUs), richness, alpha and beta diversity indexes, and differential phyla and genera. The results indicated that B. chinense could decrease depressive-like behaviors of mice, increase sucrose preference, and shorten the time of immobility in tail suspension test. After B. chinense intervention, the relative abundance of Firmicutes was significantly decreased, while that of Bacteroidetes was increased at the phylum level. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Lachnoclostridium decreased(P<0.05), while that of Bacteroides, Alistopes, etc. was elevated(P<0.05). The findings demonstrate that B. chinense can regulate the intestinal flora and improve the depressive-like behaviors of mice with depression.
Animals ; Bupleurum ; Feces ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Lactobacillus ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL

Animals ; Anxiety ; Fear ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Social Behavior

In our previous study, normal and fertile mice were successful produced from oocytes following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). In the present study, the possibility of producing transgenic embryos and offspring with this procedure was evaluated. After freezing-thawed once using HEPES-CZB medium without cryoprotectants, the cauda sperm from KM fertile male were exposed to the circular or linear pEGFP-N1 DNA for 1 min and then co-injected into metaphase II oocytes of B6D2F1 strain. When the zygotes with two pronuclei were cultured in CZB medium to day 3.5, 39.1% (9/23) of them, derived from oocytes co-injected with sperm head and pEGFP-N1 plasmid DNA, were expressed GFP protein. After transfer of the ICSI embryos with two pronuclei from co-injection of sperm head and foreign DNA, seven recipients delivered 30 pups (23.8%, 30/126). Southern blot results revealed that three of sixteen offspring integrated with GFP and neomycin genes together (18.8 %). Interestingly, all of them were produced from oocytes co-injected sperm head and linear DNA (33.3%, 3/9), while none of seven ICSI offspring integrated either GFP or neomycin gene in the group of co-injection of sperm head and circular plasmid DNA. These results indicated that the high efficiency of transgenic mouse could be produced by ICSI. It may be shown that linear DNA is more easily to integrate into host genome than circular DNA when ICSI was used to produce transgenic animals.
Animals ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Inbred DBA ; Mice, Transgenic ; genetics ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; methods