In the past decade, the relevance of tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis for the metastatic spread of tumor cells has been demonstrated, thus indicating the potential of targeting tumor lymphangiogenesis to treat cancer. Whereas numerous preclinical studies demonstrated that blocking angiogenesis or lymphangiogenesis could inhibit tumor metastasis, the scarcity of highly selective targeting candidates hampers their translation to the clinic.
No associated publication
Specimen part
View SamplesGDAP1 is a mitochondrial fission factor and mutations in GDAP1 cause Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Gdap1 knockout mice, mimicking genetic alterations of patients suffering from severe CMT forms, develop an age-related, hypomyelinating peripheral neuropathy.
The Gdap1 knockout mouse mechanistically links redox control to Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
Specimen part
View SamplesChemokines and adhesion molecules upregulated in lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) during tissue inflammation are believed to enhance dendritic cell (DC) migration to draining lymph nodes (dLNs), but the in vivo control of this process is not well understood. By performing transcriptional profiling of LECs isolated from murine skin, we found that inflammation induced by a contact hypersensitivity (CHS) response upregulated the adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 and inflammatory chemokines in LECs. Furthermore, lymphatic lineage markers like Prox-1, VEGFR3 and LYVE-1 were significantly downregulated during CHS. By contrast, skin inflammation induced by Complete Freunds adjuvant (CFA) induced a different pattern of chemokine and lymphatic marker gene expression and almost no ICAM-1 up-regulation in LECs. In FITC painting experiments, DC migration to dLNs was more strongly increased in CFA- as compared to CHS-induced inflammation. Interestingly, DC migration did not correlate with the induction of CCL21 and ICAM-1 in LECs. However, the requirement for CCR7 signaling became further pronounced during inflammation, whereas CCR7-independent signals only had a minor role in enhancing DC migration. Collectively, these findings indicate that inflammation-induced DC migration is stimulus-dependent and only moderately enhanced by LEC-induced genes other than CCL21.
Tissue inflammation modulates gene expression of lymphatic endothelial cells and dendritic cell migration in a stimulus-dependent manner.
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesUnderstanding the nature of the various glucose-derived signals for insulin secretion (both triggering and amplifying) is essential for gaining insight into the functional failure of the beta-cells in diabetes and the development of drugs for correcting this problem. The beta-cells uniquely couple changes in cellular metabolism to electrical activity and thus insulin release. In mice, beta-cell specific deletion of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor protein leads to the activation of a HIF transcription program that includes genes involved in glycolysis, suppression of mitochondrial activity and lactate production. This reprogramming of cellular metabolism results in abnormal insulin secretion properties.
No associated publication
Sex, Age
View SamplesThe aim of our study is to determine the functions of histone deacetylases (HDACs) 1 and 2 in Schwann cells during postnatal development of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Schwann cells are the myelinating glial cells of the PNS. At birth, mouse sciatic nerves mature in 2 subsequent phases: 1/ big caliber axons get sorted into a 1 to 1 relationship with Schwann cells, 2/ Schwann cells build a myelin sheath around sorted axons. In mice where both HDAC1 & HDAC2 have been specifically knocked out in Schwann cells, both phases are impaired. HDACs are chromatin remodeling enzymes, they can thus alter gene expression directly. We want to identify which genes controlled by HDAC1 and HDAC2 in Schwann cells are necessary for the maturation of sciatic nerves. Because HDAC1 and HDAC2 can compensate for each other loss to some extend, we will first analyze changes of gene expression in HDAC1/HDAC2 double KO animals. We expect to gain critical insights into the molecular mechanisms controlling Schwann cell differentiation and myelination. This knowledge is of key importance for the success of regenerative medicine in peripheral neuropathies, nerve tumors, and transplantation paradigms in non-regenerative CNS lesions and in large PNS injuries.
HDAC1 and HDAC2 control the transcriptional program of myelination and the survival of Schwann cells.
Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesThe liver is frequently challenged by surgery-induced metabolic overload, viruses, or toxins, which induce the formation of reactive oxygen species. To determine the effect of oxidative stress on liver regeneration and to identify the underlying signalling pathways, we studied liver repair in mice lacking the Nrf2 transcription factor. In these animals, expression of several cytoprotective enzymes was reduced in hepatocytes, resulting in oxidative stress. As a consequence, tissue damage was aggravated, and liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy was delayed.
Impaired liver regeneration in Nrf2 knockout mice: role of ROS-mediated insulin/IGF-1 resistance.
Specimen part
View SamplesAtherosclerosis and pressure overload are major risk factors for the development of heart failure in patients. Cardiac hypertrophy often precedes the development of heart failure. However, underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. To investigate pathomechanisms underlying the transition from cardiac hypertrophy to heart failure we used experimental models of atherosclerosis- and pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy and failure, i.e. apolipoprotein E (apoE)-deficient mice, which develop heart failure at an age of 18 months, and non-transgenic C57BL/6J (B6) mice with heart failure triggered by 6 months of pressure overload induced by abdominal aortic constriction (AAC). The development of heart failure was monitored by echocardiography, invasive hemodynamics and histology. The microarray gene expression study of cardiac genes was performed with heart tissue from failing hearts relative to hypertrophic and healthy heart tissue, respectively. The microarray study revealed that the onset of heart failure was accompanied by a strong up-regulation of cardiac lipid metabolism genes involved in fat synthesis, storage and oxidation.
Up-regulation of the cardiac lipid metabolism at the onset of heart failure.
Age, Specimen part, Disease
View SamplesHeart failure is a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality with limited options for treatment. We used 18 month-old apolipoprotein E (apoE)- deficient mice as a model of atherosclerosis-induced heart failure to analyze whether the anti-ischemic drug ranolazine could retard the progression of heart failure. The study showed that 2 months of ranolazine treatment improved cardiac function of 18 month-old apoE-deficient mice with symptoms of heart failure as assessed by echocardiography. To identify changes in cardiac gene expression induced by treatment with ranolazine a microarray study was performed with heart tissue from failing hearts relative to ranolazine-treated and healthy control hearts. The microarray approach identified heart failure-specific genes that were normalized during treatment with the anti-ischemic drug ranolazine.
Up-regulation of the cardiac lipid metabolism at the onset of heart failure.
Age, Specimen part, Disease, Treatment
View SamplesMicroarray gene expression profiling of aorta genes of APOE-deficient mice receiving atherosclerosis treatment with the ACE inhibitor captopril.
No associated publication
Specimen part, Disease, Treatment
View SamplesHeart failure is a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality with limited options for treatment. We analyzed whether the anti-ischemic drug ranolazine could retard the progression of heart failure in an experimental model of heart failure induced by 6 months of chronic pressure overload. The study showed that 2 months of ranolazine treatment improved cardiac function of aortic constricted C57BL/6J (B6) mice with symptoms of heart failure as assessed by echocardiography. The microarray gene expression study of heart tissue from failing hearts relative to ranolazine-treated and healthy control hearts identified heart failure-specific genes that were normalized during treatment with the anti-ischemic drug ranolazine.
Up-regulation of the cardiac lipid metabolism at the onset of heart failure.
Age, Specimen part, Disease, Treatment
View Samples