The determination of differences in hind paw weight distribution in the rat MIA model of OA is a technically straightforward, reproducible method that is predictive of the effects of anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents. This system may be useful for the discovery of novel pharmacologic agents in human OA.

Brown fat is specialized for energy expenditure and has therefore been proposed to function as a defense against obesity. Despite recent advances in delineating the transcriptional regulation of brown adipocyte differentiation, cellular lineage specification and developmental cues specifying brown-fat cell fate remain poorly understood. In this study, we identify and isolate a subpopulation of adipogenic progenitors (Sca-1 + /CD45 − /Mac1 − ; referred to as Sca-1 + progenitor cells, ScaPCs) residing in murine brown fat, white fat, and skeletal muscle. ScaPCs derived from different tissues possess unique molecular expression signatures and adipogenic capacities. Importantly, although the ScaPCs from interscapular brown adipose tissue (BAT) are constitutively committed brown-fat progenitors, Sca-1 + cells from skeletal muscle and subcutaneous white fat are highly inducible to differentiate into brown-like adipocytes upon stimulation with bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7). Consistent with these findings, human preadipocytes isolated from subcutaneous white fat also exhibit the greatest inducible capacity to become brown adipocytes compared with cells isolated from mesenteric or omental white fat. When muscle-resident ScaPCs are re-engrafted into skeletal muscle of syngeneic mice, BMP7-treated ScaPCs efficiently develop into adipose tissue with brown fat-specific characteristics. Importantly, ScaPCs from obesity-resistant mice exhibit markedly higher thermogenic capacity compared with cells isolated from obesity-prone mice. These data establish the molecular characteristics of tissue-resident adipose progenitors and demonstrate a dynamic interplay between these progenitors and inductive signals that act in concert to specify brown adipocyte development.

To discover dual inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase (LO) and cyclooxygenase (CO) with improved pharmacokinetic properties, we have designed and synthesized series of 1,2,4-triazole, 1,3,4-oxadiazole, and 1,3,4-thiadiazole di-tert-butylphenol derivatives which exhibit a wide range of log P (2.3 to > 4) and pKa (5.5-12) values. From this work 5-[3,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-hydroxyphenyl]-1,3,4-thiadiazole-2(3H)- thione, choline salt (12a, CI-986) was found to be a potent inhibitor of 5-LO (IC50 = 2.8 microM) and CO (IC50 = 0.8 microM), orally active in rat models of inflammation and nonulcerogenic.

In the present study, mice have been used to study the effect of strain variation on the development of pulmonary fibrosis induced by a single intratracheal administration of bleomycin. The fibrotic response was quantitated by biochemical measurement of collagen synthesis and deposition. Results indicate that variations in these parameters of fibrosis are evident depending on the strain being tested. The C57BL/6 were high responders. DBA/2 and Swiss mice were intermediate responders, and BALB/c mice were low responders. These findings indicate that genetic variation influences the development of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Also, because certain aspects of the fibrotic response in this model are similar to those found in other conditions, this model may be useful as a basis to study the role of genetics in general fibrotic mechanisms.

Airway instillation of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into rat lungs induces neutrophil accumulation, which is known to be intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1)-dependent. In the present study, ICAM-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) of whole lung was found to increase by 20-fold in this inflammatory model. This increase was reduced by 81% after treatment of animals with anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) antibody and by 37% after treatment with anti-interleukin-1 (IL-1) antibody. The same interventions reduced whole-lung ICAM-1 protein by 85% and 25%, respectively. The studies were extended to assess the locale in lung of ICAM-I upregulation. Lung vascular ICAM-1 content, which was assessed by vascular fixation of [125I]anti-ICAM-1, rose 4-fold after airway instillation of LPS. This rise was also TNF-alpha-dependent. Under the same experimental conditions, fixation of [125I]anti-ICAM-1 to airway surfaces increased 11-fold in a TNF-alpha-dependent manner. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analyses of lung tissue revealed ICAM-1 upregulation in the bronchiolar epithelium and in peribronchiolar smooth muscle. Soluble ICAM-1 could also be detected in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALFs) of animals after intratracheal instillation of LPS. Retrieved alveolar macrophages showed a small, significant, and transient increase in surface expression of ICAM-1. These data indicate, at the very least, a dual compartmentalized (vascular and airway) upregulation of ICAM-1 after airway instillation of LPS. This upregulation requires TNF-alpha and IL-1. The functional significance of upregulated airway ICAM-1 remains to be determined.