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A review of mouse mutants as genetic models of epilepsy.

Here we review the major inherited convulsive disorders found in mice and discuss their possible relationship to specific clinical seizure disorders in humans. These mouse disorders include audiogenic seizures, the epilepsy (El) mutation, spontaneous seizures, the tottering/learner syndrome, cerebellar abnormalities, myelin disorders, and alcohol withdrawal seizures. Some of these disorders are symptomatic and others are idiopathic. We find that for many major types of epilepsy in humans there exists a similar counterpart in mice. Because the genetic constitution of the mouse is better known and more easily manipulated that that of other mammalian species, the mouse may serve as an excellent animal model for genetic and biochemical studies of epilepsy.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Using multivariate genetic modeling to detect pleiotropic quantitative trait loci.

Large numbers of sibling pairs or other relatives are needed to detect linkage between a quantitative trait locus (QTL) and a marker, especially if the variance of the QTL is low relative to the total phenotypic variance of the trait. One strategy to increase the power to detect linkage is to reduce the environmental variance in the trait under analysis. This approach was explored by carrying out a series of simulation studies in which multivariate observations were used to estimate individual genotypic values at a QTL, that pleiotropically affected more than one trait. Simulations for different QTL allele frequencies with a completely informative marker showed that the power to detect the QTL increased substantially when estimates of individual genotypic values at the QTL were used in the linkage analysis instead of phenotypic observations. An advantage of this approach is that, rather than employing phenotypic selection, individuals with extreme genotypes may selected when ascertaining a sample of extreme families.

Adult↗

HSV-1-mediated NGF delivery delays nociceptive deficits in a genetic model of diabetic neuropathy.

A previous phase III clinical trial failed to show significant therapeutic benefit of repeated subcutaneous nerve growth factor (NGF) administration in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. Animal studies have since shown that site-specific viral-mediated expression of NGF in the lumbar dorsal root ganglia prevents peripheral nerve dysfunction associated with chemically induced neuropathy. Using a Herpes simplex virus expression vector, we have investigated the effect of localized NGF expression in a genetic mouse model of progressive diabetic neuropathy, the +/+ Leprdb mouse. We found that site-specific delivery of NGF initially delayed the appearance of hypoalgesia, assessed by the Hargreaves test, by 1 month and effectively attenuated this deficit for 2 months over the approximately 10 months normal life-span of these animals. Once the disease progressed into its more severe stages, NGF, although still capable of altering the electrophysiological profile of the sensory A- and C-fibers and influencing the expression of p75 and substance P in the dorsal root ganglia, could no longer maintain normal nociception. These data suggest that maximal therapeutic benefit in future NGF-based gene therapy trials will be gained from early applications of such viral-mediated neurotrophin delivery.

Action Potentials↗

Susceptibility to urethan-induced pulmonary adenomas between A/J and C57BL/6J mice: use of AXB and BXA recombinant inbred lines indicating a three-locus genetic model.

For insight into the number of genes governing differential susceptibility such as in mice of the inbred strain A/J (A) highly susceptible to the induction of pulmonary adenomas by urethan in comparison to resistant strain C57BL/6J (B6) mice, tumor induction was studied in the AXB and BXA series of recombinant inbred (RI) strains derived respectively from A female X B6 male and B6 female X A male ancestral lines. Mice from 46 of these lines were given injections with 1 mg urethan/g (body wt), and the tumor number was assessed 4 months later. Lung tumor multiplicity for several RI lines was independently characterized in the Boulder, CO, and Montreal laboratories, and very similar numbers were obtained. Most lines had multiplicities intermediate to those of the progenitor strains, clearly indicating that more than a single gene accounted for the differences in lung tumor susceptibility between A and B6. The tumor incidence and multiplicity data fit very closely to what would be expected under a three-locus model, and we designated these genes "Pas" for pulmonary adenoma susceptibility. One locus called "Pas-1" had an effect on tumor multiplicity greater than that of the other loci.

Adenoma↗

Affected kin-pair IBD methods: genetic models.

Cases of interest using affected sib-pair methods to distinguish between recessive and additive (dominant) modes of inheritance of a disease-predisposing gene involve goodness-of-fit tests with a small expected number in the "share-zero parental haplotypes" category, as well as an unknown parameter, the frequency of the disease-predisposing allele. Our simulations demonstrate that the real significance level of the chi-square test using the three-haplotype-sharing IBD values (share 2, 1, and 0 parental haplotypes) is close to the assumed (.05) level in these cases, so that the haplotype-sharing classes do not have to be lumped, which would leave no degrees of freedom for a statistical test. The validity of the chi-square approximation in cases of small expected frequencies has previously been described, but the situations that have been considered do not cover the very small values in the share-zero category that are often expected in the affected sib-pair analysis, nor do they involve estimation of an unknown parameter. Although including IBD values from affected kin pairs other than sibs can be a very powerful tool in demonstrating linkage of a marker and disease, these pairs do not add power, in fact they reduce the power, of the chi-square tests of goodness-of-fit of modes of inheritance.

Alleles↗

Altered gene expression for catecholamine biosynthetic enzymes and stress response in rat genetic model of depression.

Although stress is a major contributory factor in the development of depression, the relationship between stress and depression is still unclear. In this study, we evaluated basal mRNA levels of several genes involved in neurotransmitter biosynthesis and the effect of stress in Flinder's Sensitive Line (FSL), a genetic rat model of depression. In adrenals, basal levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) and GTP cyclohydrolase I (GTPCH) mRNAs were markedly elevated in FSL rats compared to the control strain. As opposed to control strain, immobilization stress (IMO) to FSL rats, did not further raise DBH, PNMT or GTPCH mRNAs and had relatively mild effect on TH. In contrast to enzymes involved in catecholamine biosynthesis, basal NPY and its response to IMO were unchanged in FSL rats. In the brain, the two major dopaminergic nuclei displayed differences. In substantia nigra, TH mRNA levels were similar in both strains, and elevated by IMO only in FSL rats. In ventral tegmental area in FSL rats, TH mRNA was 2-fold higher than in the control strain and not further elevated by IMO. These high basal mRNA levels and abnormal response to stress in several catecholaminergic cell types in FSL rats may be related to the manifestations of depression.

Animals↗

Genetic models of homosexuality: generating testable predictions.

Homosexuality is a common occurrence in humans and other species, yet its genetic and evolutionary basis is poorly understood. Here, we formulate and study a series of simple mathematical models for the purpose of predicting empirical patterns that can be used to determine the form of selection that leads to polymorphism of genes influencing homosexuality. Specifically, we develop theory to make contrasting predictions about the genetic characteristics of genes influencing homosexuality including: (i) chromosomal location, (ii) dominance among segregating alleles and (iii) effect sizes that distinguish between the two major models for their polymorphism: the overdominance and sexual antagonism models. We conclude that the measurement of the genetic characteristics of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) found in genomic screens for genes influencing homosexuality can be highly informative in resolving the form of natural selection maintaining their polymorphism.

Alleles↗

Linkage analysis and genetic models for IDDM.

The multiplex insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) families have been examined for linkage with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA), Gm, Km, and insulin loci. For the last three, no evidence of linkage (as measured by haplotype sharing in affected siblings) was found. For HLA, strong evidence of linkage was demonstrated, as expected from previous studies of both haplotype sharing and HLA association. The haplotype sharing in affected siblings from this and previous studies would explain a relative risk of about 3.7 in the sibling of an affected individual (95% confidence limits 2.8 to 5.4), considerably less than the values of 10-15 given by epidemiological studies. This discrepancy may be explained by other predisposing genes unlinked to HLA, or be due to common environmental factors. Analysis conditional on the affection status of all individuals, and on the parental HLA haplotypes clearly rejects both a dominant and recessive mode of inheritance in favor of a two-allele model with a reduced risk for heterozygotes, and provides some support for a three-allele model. Some evidence of age effects was found; in particular there was some suggestion of greater haplotype sharing in siblings both affected at a young age, and there was some suggestion that individuals with the predisposing HLA-DR3/DR4, DR3/DRx, and DR4/DRx genotypes were affected at a younger age. These results may be diagnostic artifacts, however, and need investigation in future studies.

Adolescent↗

Electrical remodeling and arrhythmias in long-QT syndrome: lessons from genetic models in mice.

Mutations in cardiac voltage-gated K+ channels cause long-QT syndrome (LQTS) and sudden death. We have created a mouse with a long-QT phenotype by overexpression of truncated K+ channels in the heart and have investigated the phenotype of these mice. These mice have long-QT phenotype, and spontaneous and inducible arrhythmias. Optical mapping of Kv1DN mice revealed spatial and temporal dispersion of repolarization that underlies the arrhythmias. Here I review our attempts to abolish arrhythmias in this model by crossbreeding with Kv4DN and Kv2DN mice or direct injection of adenoviral or adeno-associated viral vectors expressing wild-type Kv1.5 (AV-Kv1.5) into the myocardium. Our published work suggests that the viral vectors rescue the phenotype at the cellular level, while crossbreeding with Kv4DN mice attenuates the spontaneous and inducible arrhythmias.

Action Potentials↗

Smooth-pursuit eye movement dysfunction and liability for schizophrenia: implications for genetic modeling.

Forty-one nonpsychiatric subjects, 38 probands with schizophrenia, and 99 of their relatives were studied. Oculomotor functioning was bimodally distributed for probands and relatives. Oculomotor dysfunction was not present in all families with a schizophrenic proband. In those families in which it was present, there were significant phenotypic correlations between oculomotor functioning and schizophrenia-related characteristics. The patterns of familial resemblance in the families in whom oculomotor dysfunction was present were consistent with nonadditive genetic variance contributing both to oculomotor dysfunction and to the relationship between oculomotor dysfunction and clinical symptoms. These results suggest that schizophrenia may be etiologically heterogeneous and that oculomotor dysfunction may help to identify nonadditive genetic variance for this disorder.

Adult↗

Effect of population associations and reduced penetrance on observed and expected genotype frequencies in a simple genetic model: application to HLA and insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

The observed and Hardy--Weinberg-expected frequencies for (HLA) marker heterozygotes in a disease population are calculated where it is assumed that the disease is caused by either homozygosity or heterozygosity (with reduced pentrance) for a disease susceptibility allele at a disease locus, that allele being positively associated with both of the relevant alleles at the marker locus (the single susceptibility allele model of Svejgaard & Ryder, 1981). It is shown that the observed frequency is always less than or equal to the H-W expectation, with the (observed/expected) ratio decreasing as the degree of dominance increases.

Alleles↗

Involvement of parathyroid hormone (PTH) in genetic models of hypertension.

Although the precise mechanism(s) of PTH in GHR were not yet fully understood, the research to date is compatible with the presence of a secondary hyperparathyroidism in the GHR models. A low serum ionized calcium level due to renal calcium leak and/or low intestinal absorption of calcium should be the stimulus for PTH hypersecretion. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that both long-term oral calcium supplementation or removal of parathyroid glands prevents and attenuates the development of genetic hypertension. It is concluded that PTH, probably in concomitant with other factors such as vitamin D or parathyroid hypertensive factor, has a permissive effect in the development and the maintenance of hypertension in GHR.

Animals↗

The fat mouse: a powerful genetic model to study elevated plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 in obesity/NIDDM.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 is elevated in obesity and may be a risk factor for obesity/NIDDM related cardiovascular disease. In spite of this, little is known about the tissue and cellular origin of elevated PAI-1 in obesity or of the mediators and molecular mechanisms that regulate it. We have begun to systematically address these issues using genetically obese (ob/ob, db/db) mice. Plasma PAI-1 levels were 5-fold higher in obese mice compared to their lean counterparts. Subsequent RT-PCR and in situ hybridization studies suggest that the increased plasma PAI-1 originates primarily from the adipocyte in response to chronically elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), insulin, and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). Thus, the signals and mechanisms that lead to elevated plasma PAI-1 observed in obesity are complex, and appear to involve interactions between multiple mediators and the adipose tissue itself.

Animals↗

Up-regulation of D3 dopaminergic receptor mRNA in the core of the nucleus accumbens accompanies the development of seizures in a genetic model of absence-epilepsy in the rat.

The basal ganglia system is thought to play a key role in the control of absence-seizures and there is ample evidence that epileptic seizures modify brain dopamine function. We recently reported that local injections of dopamine D1 or D2 agonists in the core of the nucleus accumbens suppressed absence-seizures in a spontaneous, genetic rodent model of absence-epilepsy whereas injections of D1 or D2 antagonists had aggravating effects. These findings raised the possibility that the dopaminergic system may be altered in absence-epilepsy prone rats. Therefore, we studied by in situ hybridization histochemistry the expression of pre- and postsynaptic components of the dopaminergic system in this strain of rats. When compared to non-epileptic control rats, epileptic rats displayed no change in the expression of mRNAs coding for the neuronal dopaminergic markers (tyrosine hydroxylase, membraneous and vesicular dopamine transporters). In addition, there was no difference between the two strains concerning the expression of the dopamine receptor transcripts D1, D2 and D5. In adult absence-epilepsy prone rat with an overt epileptic phenotype, however, an elevated level of D3 mRNA expression was observed in neurons of the core of the nucleus accumbens (+23% increase in silver grain density compared to non-epileptic control rats). D3 transcripts were not increased in juvenile epileptic rats without seizures. These findings suggests that up-regulation of D3 receptor mRNA is part of the epileptic phenotype in absence-epilepsy prone rats. Its localization in the core of the nucleus accumbens bears close resemblance to the dopamine-sensitive antiepileptic sites in ventral striatum and further support the involvement of ventral structures of the basal ganglia system in the control of absence-seizures.

Animals↗

Inhibition of posttraumatic microglial proliferation in a genetic model of macrophage colony-stimulating factor deficiency in the mouse.

Activation and proliferation of microglia are common cellular hallmarks in many different pathological processes of the central nervous system. Although a number of colony-stimulating factors enhance microglial proliferation in vitro, little is known about the endogenous mitogens. In the present study we show a strong and selective inhibition of microglial proliferation in the facial nucleus of osteopetrotic (op/op) mice, with a genetic deficiency in biologically active macrophage colony-stimulating factor (MCSF). Posttraumatic activation of adjacent axotomized neurons and reactive astrocytes was not affected, emphasizing the specificity of MCSF as a microglial growth factor.

Animals↗

Sex differences in lung cancer incidence: a genetic model.

Family histories pertaining to cancer of all anatomic sites were ascertained on 88 Caucasian patients (61 males, 27 females) with histologically verified lung cancer. Lifetable analysis revealed that relatives of female probands had a significantly higher risk for cancer (all sites) at younger age (p less than .04) compared to relatives of male probands. This trend was peculiar to nonsmoking-associated cancer sites, and was not apparent for smoking-associated cancer sites. We hypothesize that certain components of genetic liability to lung cancer are common to nonsmoking-associated malignant neoplasms, and that females who develop lung cancer are more extreme with respect to genotype than are males who develop lung cancer. Our hypothesis accounts for the lower incidence of lung cancer among females, as well as the apparent increased susceptibility to cancer among their relatives.

Adult↗