There is a dearth of good mouse models for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. However, the development of gene-targeted technology and the recognition of the importance of the mouse as a model organism have led t...
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There is a dearth of good mouse models for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. However, the development of gene-targeted technology and the recognition of the importance of the mouse as a model organism have led to the development of a range of behavioural tests for mice. Spontaneous mutations in mice have already provided important information about the role of novel gene products in disorders such as epilepsy and deafness. This has provided the impetus to the establishment of large-scale mutagenesis programmes to generate new mutations. Tests of sensory and motor function have previously been most frequently used as these are simple to perform and the phenotypes are relatively obvious. Subtle phenotypes, of relevance to psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and schizophrenia, can be detected using more complex tests. Screens such as prepulse inhibition and startle have been adapted for mice and these can be run with relatively high thoughput using fully automated equipment. Other behaviours such as sleep and circadian rhythms, learning and memory and nociception can also be assessed. New technological advances in non-invasive imaging and neurochemical analyses have meant that these techniques can be readily applied to mouse phenotyping. The use of these screens together with mutagenesis is already beginning to increase the numbers of mouse models of potential relevance to CNS diseases.
The etiology of the central nervous system (CNS) alterations after human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, such as dementia and encephalitis, remains unknown. We have used microarray analysis in a monkey model o...
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The etiology of the central nervous system (CNS) alterations after human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, such as dementia and encephalitis, remains unknown. We have used microarray analysis in a monkey model of neuroAIDS to identify 98 genes, many previously unrecognized in lentiviral CNS pathogenesis, whose expression is significantly upregulated in the frontal lobe of simian immunodeficiency virus-infected brains. Further, through immunohistochemical. illumination, distinct classes of genes were found whose protein products localized to infiltrating macrophages, endothelial cells and resident glia, such as CD163, Glut5, and ISG15. In addition we found proteins Induced in cortical neurons (ie, cyclin D3, tissue transglutaminase, alpha1-antichymotrypsin, and STAT1), which have not previously been described as participating in simian immunodeficiency virus or HIV-related CNS pathology. This molecular phenotyping in the infected brains revealed pathways promoting entry of macrophages into the brain and their subsequent detrimental effects on neurons. These data support the hypothesis that in HIV-induced CNS disease products of activated macrophages and astrocytes lead to CNS dysfunction by directly damaging neurons, as well as by induction of altered gene and protein expression profiles in neurons themselves which are deleterious to their function. (Am J Pathol 2003, 162:2041-2057)
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