pilocarpine mouse model
The main features of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) are: Epileptic foci in the limbic system An “initial precipitating injury” The so-called “latent period” The presence of hippocampal sclerosis leading to reorganization of neuronal networks Many of these characteristics can be reproduced in rodents by systemic injection of pilocarpine. In this animal model, status epilepticus is […]
Regenerative therapy
Stem cells from adult tissues were considered for a long time as promising tools for regenerative therapy of neurological diseases, including spinal cord injuries (SCI). Researchers at GIGA have investigated the impact of pure populations of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) isolated from adult bone marrow in a mouse model […]
Role of elongator complex
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the brain and spinal cord. The cause of multiple sclerosis is unknown. It’s considered an autoimmune disease whereby the immune system malfunction destroys myelin. Among others, one strategy to treat MS is to stimulate the recruitment and the activation of resident oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) to differentiate them into […]
Model of Dicer depletion in the otocyst
Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of Dicer during early cochlear development. To extend this investigation to the establishment and differentiation of the prosensory domain, researchers at GIGA crossed Dicerflox/flox mice with FoxG1Cre/+ mice to generate embryos (i.e., FoxG1:Dicer-cKO) with an early (E8.5) depletion of Dicer in the otocyst. Contact [info@b2h.be] us to discuss how these […]
Ototoxic drug-treated animal
Typically, the cochlear effects of ototoxic drugs are studied in the guinea pig, which is the most common animal model used in hearing research. In this model, guinea pigs receive an intrapritoneal injection of either Knamycin during 7 days or Cisplatin during 10 days. Cisplatin- and aminoglycoside-induced ototoxicity is known to be mediated via injury […]
Guinea pigs deafened by aminoglycoside
Guinea pigs deafened by aminoglycoside are a model of neuronal degeneration secondary to hair cell destruction in the organ of Corti. In this model, the left ear is operated on and the right ear is used as control (untreated ear, no operations). Each left bulla is opened under sterile conditions through a retro-auricular approach. The […]
Cells regeneration
Researchers at GIGA have demonstrated that mammalian hair cells can be directly generated from supporting cells by inhibition of ephrin-B2 signaling. Using either ephrin-B2 conditional knockout mice, shRNA-mediated gene silencing or soluble inhibitors, they found that downregulation of ephrin-B2 signalling at embryonic stages results in supporting cell translocation into hair cell layers and subsequent switch […]
Role of ELP3
Elp3 lysine acetyl-transferase, the catalytic subunit of the Elongator complex, has been assigned multiple roles in gene transcription, DNA methylation and protein translation efficiency. Given the importance of acetylation homeostasis in controlling developmental processes together with recent reports implicating Elp3 in cortical neurogenesis, researchers at GIGA investigated its role during inner ear formation. Using different […]
[18F]SV2A – early diagnosis
In a transgenic mouse model, overexpressing human α–syn under the mThy1 promotor (Parkinson mouse model), researchers have proved that the new SV2A-radioligand developed at CRC is a valid biomarker to study the loss of synaptic terminals appearing before the occurrence of behavioral disturbances. Contact [info@b2h.be] us to discuss how these capabilities can forward your projects! We […]
[18F]FMT – evaluation of dopaminergic dysfunction
Researchers at CRC have evaluated the feasibility of in vivo PET study using 6-[18F]fluoro-m-tyrosine (6-[18F]FMT) on lesioned rats with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), a rat model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The (6-[18F]FMT) is an effective PET tracer to evaluate DA terminals integrity and L-aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (AAAD) metabolic pathway. Using this PET tracer, they were able […]