Construct for Tetracycline Inducible Podocyte Specific Gene Expression in Mice

The National Institutes of Health announces the generation of a construct by ligating 2.5kb human podocin promoter sequence to gene encoding reverse tetracycline-controlled transcriptional activator which enables tetracycline-inducible podocyte specific gene of interest expression with another construct consisting of tetracycline responsive element, minimal CMV promoter and gene of interest.

Hspa2 Knockout Mice for Study of Spermatogenesis and Male Infertility

HSPA2 is a member of the HSP70 family of heat-shock proteins that serve as molecular chaperones. Researchers discovered that HSPA2 protein is expressed in spermatogenesis during the meiotic phase. Spermatogenic cells lacking the HSPA2 protein arrest in mid-meiosis and undergo apoptosis. HSPA2 is present in the synaptonemal complex of wild-type mice and the chromosomes fail to separate in HSPA2-deficient mice (previously known as Hsp70-2-/- mice), suggesting that HSPA2 is required for the chromosomal events of meiosis such as synapsis, crossing over, or recombination.

Transgenic Hspa2-Cre Mice for Studying Spermatogenesis and Male Infertility

HSPA2 is a member of the HSP70 family of heat-shock proteins that serve as molecular chaperones. Hspa2-cre expression mimics the spermatogenic cell-specific expression of endogenous HSPA2 within the testis, being first observed in leptotene/zygotene spermatocytes. Expression of the transgene is also detected at restricted sites in the brain, as occurs for endogenous HSPA2.

Java Applet for Modeling Human Metabolism and Energy Expenditure for Adaptive Dieting and Exercise Regimens

Known methods for predicting weight loss fail to account for slowing of metabolism as weight is lost and therefore overestimate the degree of weight loss. While this limitation of the 3500 Calorie per pound rule has been known for some time, it was not clear how to dynamically account for the metabolic slowing. The invention provides a Java applet for modeling of human metabolism to improve the weight change predictions. The model has been validated using previously published human data and the model equations have been published.

Antagonist of A3 Adenosine Receptor Fluorescent Probes for the Study of Diseases that Involve A3 Signaling

This molecular probe may serve as a companion tool to identify and stratify patient populations based on the prevalence of the target A3 adenosine receptors.

Small molecule drugs, A3AR-selective agonists, are currently in advanced clinical trials for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, autoimmune inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and dry eye disease, and other conditions.

Endothelial Cell Line to Study Prevention of Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis underlies most cases of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is now the major cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. An inflammatory reaction is an essential component in the appearance and development of an atherosclerotic lesion. The inflammatory process is associated with the expression of adhesion molecules such as vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM) at the surface of endothelial cells. Antiatherogenic lipoprotein, high density lipoprotein (HDL), is known to down regulate the expression of VCAM.