Microglial cells from psychologically stressed mice as an accelerator of cerebral cryptococcosis

Severe stress decreases the resistance of hosts exposed to microbial infections. As compared with two groups of control mice (normal mice, food-and-water-deprived mice [FWD mice]), restraint-stressed mice (RST mice) were shown to be greatly susceptible to intracerebral growth of Cryptococcus neoformans. The susceptibility of FWD mice to cerebral cryptococcosis increased to the level shown in RST mice, when these groups of mice were inoculated with microglial cells from the brains of RST mice. However, the susceptibility of FWD mice to cerebral cryptococcosis was not influenced by the adoptive transfer of microglial cells from normal mice or FWD mice. Microglial cells from RST mice produced CC-chemokine ligand-2 (CCL-2/monocyte chemoattractant protein 1), but not microglial cells from FWD mice. The resistance of RST mice to cerebral cryptococcosis was improved to the extent shown in FWD mice, when they were treated with anti-CCL-2 antibody. However, the susceptibility of normal mice and FWD mice to cerebral cryptococcosis increased to that shown in RST mice, when they were treated with rCCL-2. Microglial cells from RST mice were discriminated from the same cell preparations derived from FWD mice by their abilities to produce CCL-2, to phagocytize C. neoformans cells and to express Toll-like receptor 2. These results indicate that the resistance of RST mice to cerebral cryptococcosis is diminished by CCL-2 produced by microglial cells that are influenced by restraint stress.     

Disorder of salivary secretion in inbred polydipsic mouse

To find mechanisms of an extreme polydipsia in an inbred strain of mice, STR/N, this study was undertaken using Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice as a control. During food deprivation, daily water intake of both strains decreased. The decrement in the STR/N mice was larger than that in the ICR mice. During dehydration, daily food intake of the STR/N mice was smaller than that of the ICR mice. These data indicate that prandial drinking was more severely affected for the STR/N mice. Under anesthesia, the stimulated salivary secretion by pilocarpine of the STR/N mice was significantly smaller than that of the ICR mice. The submandibular gland of the STR/N mice was lighter and harder than that of the ICR mice. After desalivation from the major three salivary glands, the ICR mice drank as much as the STR/N mice. Young STR/N mice with undeveloped polydipsia did not show different salivary secretion stimulated by pilocarpine from the young ICR mice. These findings indicate a dysfunction with age in the salivary glands of the STR/N mice, and they suggest that the decreased saliva induces thirst and triggers extraordinary drinking in the polydipsic mice.     

The effect of ponalrestat on sorbitol levels in the lens of obese and diabetic mice

Sorbitol levels were determined in lens of genetically obese (ob/ob) and diabetic (db/db) mice, as well as in lean mice (+/db, +/ob) made diabetic by administration of streptozotocin (STZ). Treatment of lean mice with STZ resulted in hypoinsulinemia, whereas the ob/ob and db/db mice were hyperinsulinemic. Hyperglycemia was present in STZ-treated +/db and +/ob mice and in db/db mice, whereas relative euglycemia was observed in ob/ob mice and untreated +/db and +/ob mice. Sorbitol levels were elevated in lens tissue of db/db mice and STZ-treated +/db. In contrast, no changes in sorbitol content were observed in ob/ob mice and +/ob mice treated with STZ, suggesting that aldose reductase activity in lens of this animal model is considerably less than that present in db/db mice. Oral treatment of db/db mice and STZ-treated +/db mice with Ponalrestat reduced hyperglycemia-induced sorbitol accumulation significantly in lens, indicating that aldose reductase inhibitors may ameliorate long-term complications associated with sorbitol accumulation in diabetes.     

The regulation of hepatic stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase in obese-hyperglycaemic (ob/ob) mice by food intake and the fatty acid composition of the diet.

1. The effects of food intake and the fatty acid composition of the diet on the hepatic stearoyl-CoA desaturase activity of obese-hyperglycaemic (ob/ob) mice were investigated. 2. Obese mice fed on a commercial mouse diet, ad libitum, had 6.5-fold more activity per liver cell than had lean mice. 3. On a diet containing 14% corn oil the activity was 65% less in obese mice and 62% less in lean mice compared with animals fed on the commercial diet. 4. Feeding with 14% saturated fat in the diet doubled the activity in lean mice compared with those on the commercial diet, but had no effect on the activity in obese mice. 5. Obese mice fed on the corn-oil diet contained a higher proportion of linoleic acid in the liver lipids than did lean mice fed on the commercial diet, but the acyl-CoA desaturase activity was 125% higher than in the lean mice. 6. Limiting the food intake of obese mice by pair-feeding with lean mice decreased their acyl-CoA desaturase activity when the animals were fed on the saturated-fat diet, but the activity remained 75% higher than in lean mice, whereas in obese mice pair-fed on the corn-oil diet the activity was the same as in lean mice. 7. During starvation the acyl-CoA desaturase activity in livers from obese mice decreased more slowly and proportionately less than in livers from lean mice. 8. It is concluded that increased substrate supply as a result of hyperphagia and not low concentration of linoleic acid is the main factor causing high acyl-CoA desaturase activity in obese mice.     

Influence of Aging and Gender Differences on Feeding Behavior and Ghrelin-Related Factors during Social Isolation in Mice

Psychological stress due to social isolation is known to cause abnormal feeding behaviors, but the influences of gender and aging on subchronic stress-induced changes in feeding behaviors are unknown. Thus, we examined the changes in body weight, food intake, and orexigenic ghrelin-related factors during 2 weeks of isolation stress in young and aged mice. Food intake increased significantly in young mice in the isolation group compared with the group-housed control throughout the experimental period. This isolation-induced increase in food intake was not observed in aged mice. In young mice, there were no significant differences in body weight between the isolated group and group-housed control up to 2 weeks. However, aged male mice exhibited significant weight loss at 2 weeks and a similar tendency was observed in aged female mice. Young male mice, but not female mice, had significantly increased (2.2-fold) plasma acylated ghrelin levels after 1 week of isolation compared with the group-housed control. A significant but lower increase (1.3-fold) was also observed in aged male mice. Hypothalamic preproghrelin gene expression decreased significantly with isolation in young male mice, whereas it increased significantly in female mice. The expression levels of NPY and AGRP in the hypothalamus, which are transmitted by elevated peripheral ghrelin signals, increased significantly in isolated young male mice, whereas the AGRP expression levels decreased significantly in young female mice. Isolation caused no significant differences in the expression levels of these genes in aged mice. In isolation, young female mice exhibited markedly increased dark- and light-phase locomotor activities compared with male mice, whereas male and female aged mice exhibited no obvious increases in activity immediately after the dark phase started. We conclude that the gender-specific homeostatic regulatory mechanisms required to maintain body weight operated during subchronic psychological stress in young mice but not in aged mice.     

Are mice calorically restricted in nature?

An important question about traditional caloric restriction (CR) experiments on laboratory mice is how food intake in the laboratory compares with that of wild mice in nature. Such knowledge would allow us to distinguish between two opposing views of the anti-aging effect of CR--whether CR represents, in laboratory animals, a return to a more normal level of food intake, compared with excess food consumption typical of laboratory conditions or whether CR represents restriction below that of animals living in nature, i.e. the conditions under which house mice evolved. To address this issue, we compared energy use of three mouse genotypes: (1) laboratory-selected mouse strains (= laboratory mice), (2) house mice that were four generations or fewer removed from the wild (= wild-derived mice) and (3) mice living in nature (= wild mice). We found, after correcting for body mass, that ad libitum fed laboratory mice eat no more than wild mice. In fact, under demanding natural conditions, wild mice eat even more than ad libitum fed laboratory mice. Laboratory mice do, however, eat more than wild-derived mice housed in similar captive conditions. Therefore, laboratory mice have been selected during the course of domestication for increased food intake compared with captive wild mice, but they are not particularly gluttonous compared with wild mice in nature. We conclude that CR experiments do in fact restrict energy consumption beyond that typically experienced by mice in nature. Therefore, the retarded aging observed with CR is not due to eliminating the detrimental effects of overeating.     

Evidence for an interaction between leptin, T cell costimulatory antigens CD28, CTLA-4 and CD26 (dipeptidyl peptidase IV) in BCG-induced immune responses of leptin- and leptin receptor-deficient mice

We assessed changes of the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV, CD26) in the context of leptin or leptin receptor deficiency. C57BL/6 mice, Leptin-deficient mice (ob/ob mice, B6.V-Lep) and Leptin-receptor-deficient mice (db/db mice, B6.Cg-m+/+Lepr) were infected with B. Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and sacrificed three days later. DPP IV activity in serum was higher in ob/ob mice and in db/db mice than in wild-type mice. The expression of DPP IV/CD26 on splenocytes was higher in ob/ob mice than in wild-type animals, and lower in db/db mice, and decreased upon stimulation with BCG in ob/ob mice only. Several T cell antigens including CTLA-4 were expressed aberrantly in ob/ob and in db/db mice. Our observations provide evidence for a relationship between DPP IV and leptin.     

Isolation effect in mice (Mus musculus): (i) Does it really induce aggression?

In previous studies, isolated mice are found to be extremely more aggressive than group-reared mice. In most of those studies, however, the pairings of the group-reared mice were randomly determined, without attention to individuals' ranks in their home cages. In this study, the effect of isolation was analyzed by comparing isolated mice with dominants of group-reared mice. In experiment 1 the group-reared mice were randomly chosen as in previous studies. Isolated mice were significantly more aggressive, but the pairings of the group-reared mice were found to be all dominant vs. subordinate. In experiment 2, the group-reared dominants encountered unfamiliar dominants in an unfamiliar place. Dominant mice were found to be less aggressive than the isolated mice. This result was inconsistent with the “territorial dominant hypothesis” on the hyperaggressiveness of the isolated mice. Sequential analysis of behavior clarified that the isolated mice had a sequential pattern quite different from the group-reared mice, and provided an illustrative figure for the “escalation hypothesis”. The lack of aggression in the group-reared mice, however, left a question about the sequence similarity of aggressive behavior in isolaed and group-reared mice.     

Decreased benzodiazepine receptor binding in epileptic El mice: A quantitative autoradiographic study

Benzodiazepine receptors and subtypes were examined in El mice and normal ddY mice with a quantitative autoradiographic technique. Specific [³H]flunitrazepam binding in stimulated El mice, which had experienced repeated convulsions, was significantly lower in the cortex and hippocampus than in ddY mice and unstimulated El mice. In the amygdala, specific [³H]flunitrazepam binding in stimulated El mice was lower than in ddY mice. There was a tendency for the [³H]flunitrazepam binding in these regions in unstimulated El mice to be intermediate between that in stimulated El mice and that in ddY mice, but there was no significant difference between unstimulated El mice and ddY mice. [³H]Flunitrazepam binding displaced by CL218,872 was significantly lower in the cortex of stimulated El mice than in that of the other two groups, and in the hippocampus of stimulated than of unstimulated El mice. These data suggest that the decrease in [³H]flunitrazepam binding in stimulated El mice may be due mainly to that of type 1 receptor and may be the result of repeated convulsions.     

Heterogeneous metabolic adaptation of C57BL/6J mice to high-fat diet

C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat, carbohydrate-free diet (HFD) for 9 mo. Approximately 50% of the mice became obese and diabetic (ObD), approximately 10% lean and diabetic (LD), approximately 10% lean and nondiabetic (LnD), and approximately 30% displayed intermediate phenotype. All of the HFD mice were insulin resistant. In the fasted state, whole body glucose clearance was reduced in ObD mice, unchanged in the LD mice, and increased in the LnD mice compared with the normal-chow mice. Because fasted ObD mice were hyperinsulinemic and the lean mice slightly insulinopenic, there was no correlation between insulin levels and increased glucose utilization. In vivo, tissue glucose uptake assessed by 2-[(14)C]deoxyglucose accumulation was reduced in most muscles in the ObD mice but increased in the LnD mice compared with the values of the control mice. In the LD mice, the glucose uptake rates were reduced in extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and total hindlimb but increased in soleus, diaphragm, and heart. When assessed in vitro, glucose utilization rates in the absence and presence of insulin were similar in diaphragm, soleus, and EDL muscles isolated from all groups of mice. Thus, in genetically homogenous mice, HFD feeding lead to different metabolic adaptations. Whereas all of the mice became insulin resistant, this was associated, in obese mice, with decreased glucose clearance and hyperinsulinemia and, in lean mice, with increased glucose clearance in the presence of mild insulinopenia. Therefore, increased glucose clearance in lean mice could not be explained by increased insulin level, indicating that other in vivo mechanisms are triggered to control muscle glucose utilization. These adaptive mechanisms could participate in the protection against development of obesity.     

Serum amyloid A, cytokines, and corticosterone responses in germfree and conventional mice after lipopolysaccharide injection.

To determine why germfree mice are less susceptible to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) than conventional mice, we studied serum levels of serum amyloid A (SAA), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin 1 (IL-1), IL-6, and corticosterone in mice after treatment with LPS. A single injection of LPS caused an elevation of SAA, an acute-phase protein in the mouse, in both conventional and germfree IQI mice, and the response was significantly less in germfree mice. LPS-induced elevations of serum TNF, IL-1, and IL-6 levels were also significantly less in germfree mice, while serum corticosterone levels were greater in germfree mice than in conventional mice. These results suggest that the lower susceptibility to LPS and a smaller response of SAA elevation by LPS in germfree mice may result from less elevation in serum of these cytokines in these mice, which are known to mediate the acute phase response of SAA. High levels of serum corticosterone in germfree mice may be partly responsible for the lower responsiveness of these inflammatory cytokines to LPS in these mice.     

Anti-diabetic effects of globin digest and its active ingredient Leu-Ser-Glu-Leu in ICR mice,streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice and KK-Ay mice

AimsLeu-Ser-Glu-Leu (LSEL) is the main active ingredient of globin digest (GD) that has an anti-diabetic effect. Here, we investigated the anti-diabetic effect of LSEL for the first time.Main methodsThe anti-diabetic effects of GD and LSEL in ICR mice, streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice and KK-Ay mice were examined.Key findingsGD and LSEL suppressed the elevation of blood glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in ICR mice, STZ-induced diabetic mice and KK-Ay mice as well as in an oral sucrose tolerance test in ICR mice and in an insulin tolerance test (ITT) in KK-Ay mice. GD and LSEL decreased the blood glucose levels in the basal state in STZ-induced diabetic mice and KK-Ay mice. Furthermore, GD and LSEL elevated the serum insulin levels in an OGTT in ICR mice and KK-Ay mice and promoted the use of insulin in an ITT in KK-Ay mice. GD and LSEL increased the translocation or expression of the glucose transporter 4 in the muscle of ICR mice, STZ-induced diabetic mice and KK-Ay mice and increased the expression of the uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) in the muscle of ICR mice.SignificanceThese results indicate that GD and LSEL control blood glucose through the promotion of glucose uptake in the muscle of the mice. The acceleration of glucose uptake by GD and LSEL may be controlled by the promotion of insulin secretion and the up-regulation of UCP2 expression. GD and LSEL seem to be useful for lowering the incidence of hyperglycemia.     

Changes of ataxia, spontaneous movement and the cerebellar noradrenaline system with aging in ataxic mice

Changes of cerebellar weight, spontaneous movement and ataxia with aging were investigated in Weaver and cytosine arabinoside-injected mice (Ara-C). In addition, changes of cerebellar NA and MHPG concentrations in both mice were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. Cerebellar weight increased with aging in both mice. Spontaneous movements in Weaver mice were not significantly changed, but Ara-C mice showed a decreasing tendency with aging. Ataxic gait improved with aging in Weaver mice, but not in Ara-C mice. With aging, cerebellar NA and MHPG concentrations were decreased in controls, but not in Ara-C mice. In Weaver mice, cerebellar MHPG concentration was decreased. These results suggest that NA turnover in ataxic mice is different from that in controls, but is not correlated closely with ataxia.     

Characteristic faecal flora of NC mice

The composition of faecal flora of NC mice was compared with that of CF #1 mice. NC- and CF #1-germfree (GF) mice were cage-mated with NC- or CF #1-conventional (CV) mice in an isolator. The faecal flora of these ex-GF mice was dependent on the recipient mouse strain modifying colonization by the donor mouse bacteria. Although NC- and CF #1-pups removed by hysterectomy were fostered to different strains, almost all these mice at 8 weeks old had a strain characteristic pattern of faecal flora regardless of the foster strains. In GF mice mono-associated with a Lactobacillus strain or a Bifidobacterium strain isolated from faeces of CV mice, the numbers of these bacteria in the stomach and small intestine of NC mice were lower than those of CF #1 mice. In GF mice associated with chloroform-treated faeces of CV mice, and a Lactobacillus strain or a Bifidobacterium strain, the numbers of these bacteria in the stomach and all parts of the intestine of NC mice were considerably lower than those of CF #1 mice. These results suggested that the composition of faecal flora of NC mice were characteristic, i.e. the fact that the numbers of lactobacilli were low compared with CF #1 mice with ordinary faecal flora and the colonization of bifidobacteria, peptococcaceae and eubacteria on ES agar in NC mice intestine differed, was due to genetic factors.     

两种自发性2型糖尿病小鼠生物学特性比较

目的分别以C57BL/6JSlac和C57BL/KsJ-db/＋表型正常小鼠为对照组,比较自发性2型糖尿病KK-Ay/Ta和C57BL/KsJ-db/db小鼠的体生长曲线、糖代谢曲线、血清胰岛素水平、主要脏器重量、脏器系数等生物学特性的差异,并探讨其肾脏、肝脏和胰腺等组织病理学变化。方法在各自实验周期内,每2周测定实验组和对照组小鼠的体重、血糖以及血清胰岛素水平,实验结束后处死,脏器、脂肪称重,部分组织制作病理切片。结果 （1）KK小鼠体重远高于db/db小鼠,且同品系间雄性小鼠重于雌性小鼠（P〈0.05）;（2）同品系间雄性小鼠的血糖值明显大于雌性小鼠（P〈0.05）,db/db小鼠出现血糖异常症状比KK小鼠早,且血糖值大于KK小鼠（P〈0.05）,而KK小鼠血糖异常持续时间则较db/db小鼠长;（3）KK小鼠的血清胰岛素水平明显高于db/db小鼠（P〈0.05）,同品系雌雄小鼠间没有明显差异（P〉0.05）;（4）雄性KK小鼠脂肪系数及部分脏器萎缩程度大于雌性,而db/db小鼠雌雄间则无明显差异（P〉0.05）,同时db/db小鼠脾脏和胰腺的萎缩程度及脂肪系数大于KK小鼠（P〈0.05）,而KK小鼠肝脏的萎缩程度则大于db/db小鼠;（5）糖尿病模型小鼠肾脏、肝脏以及胰腺组织均出现明显病变。结论 KK-Ay/Ta和C57BL/KsJ-db/db小鼠均是肥胖的,伴有高血糖、高度胰岛素抵抗,肝脏、肾脏病变和胰岛功能不足的适用性2型糖尿病动物模型,且db/db小鼠血糖出现异常比KK小鼠早、脂肪系数大,而KK小鼠血糖异常持续时间较db/db小鼠长,同时血清胰岛素水平远大于db/db小鼠。     

Duration and patterns of transmission of Theiler's mouse encephalomyelitis virus infection

The duration and patterns of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) transmission were studied in eight index mice inoculated orally. Transmission was monitored by testing for seroconversion to TMEV in sentinel mice in direct contact with index mice and in other sentinel mice in contact with bedding soiled by index mice. For the first 14 weeks after inoculation, two contact sentinels were housed with each index mouse for 1 week, then replaced with two new sentinels. For the remaining 16 weeks, contact sentinels were changed monthly. All index mice transmitted TMEV continuously (weekly) for 4 to 9 weeks. Thereafter, six index mice transmitted virus intermittently. All index mice ceased transmitting TMEV 7 to 22 weeks post-inoculation. Results obtained from sentinel mice in contact with bedding soiled by index mice were 86% concordant with those using contact sentinel mice. Seven index mice were treated with cyclophosphamide or hydrocortisone 30 weeks post-inoculation. One cyclophosphamide treated mouse reinitiated virus shedding.     

The actions of dichloroacetic acid on blood glucose, liver glycogen and fatty acid synthesis in obese-hyperglycaemic (ob/ob) and lean mice

Obese-hyperglycaemic mice and lean mice were injected with dichloroacetate to determine the significance of gluconeogenesis in maintaining the hyperglycaemia of obese mice and to investigate the effects of a fall in blood glucose on fatty acid synthesis. One hour after the second of two, hourly, injections of dichloroacetate the blood glucose concentrations in fed and starved lean mice were decreased, whereas in obese mice they were sharply increased. In obese and lean mice, both fed and starved, dichloroacetate decreased plasma lactate but insulin was unchanged. The quantity of liver glycogen was decreased in all dichloroacetate treated mice, with the largest falls in fed and starved obese mice, which had much larger glycogen stores than lean mice. Dichloroacetate treatment decreased the concentration of plasma non-esterified fatty acids in fed and starved obese mice and fed lean mice but not in starved lean mice. Fatty acid synthesis in white (inguinal, subcutaneous) adipose tissue was stimulated by dichloroacetate in fed obese mice and inhibited in fed lean mice. Fatty acid synthesis in brown adipose tissue (scapular) was faster than in white adipose tissue and was less affected by dichloroacetate although the changes were in the same direction as in white adipose tissue. We attribute the increased hyperglycaemia of obese mice treated with dichloroacetate to increased glycogenolysis coupled with a failure to secrete additional insulin in response to the raised blood glucose. This high blood glucose concentration in dichloroacetate treated obese mice may in turn explain the increased fatty acid synthesis in their white adipose tissue.     

Abnormalities in aggression and anxiety in transgenic mice overexpressing activin E

To study the function of activin E, a TGF-β superfamily member, in the regulation of affective behavior, we investigated the behavior of transgenic mice overexpressing activin E (TgActβE mice). Male TgActβE mice showed aggressive behavior in resident-intruder tests. In elevated plus-maze tests, the percentage of open arm entries was significantly increased in female TgActβE mice compared with that in wild-type mice. Furthermore, female TgActβE mice stayed in the central area for a significantly longer time than wild-type mice in open field tests. These results indicated that TgActβE mice had less anxiety-like behavior. The number of restraint-stress-evoked c-Fos-positive cells in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus in TgActβE mice was significantly decreased compared with that in wild-type mice. This suggests that synthesis of corticotrophin-releasing hormone induced by stress was decreased in TgActβE mice. Taking these results together, activin E may act as a regulator of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.     

Role of IL-6 in the induction of hepatic metallothionein in mice after partial hepatectomy

Metallothioneins (MT) are induced upon partial hepatectomy (PH), possibly mediated by various cytokines. In the present study, we studied cytokine-dependent MT synthesis in partially hepatectomized IL-6 gene knock-out (GKO) mice in the remaining lobe of the liver. We focused on IL-6, TNFalpha and IL-1beta, the major cytokines thought to be involved in MT synthesis. The IL-6 GKO mice and B6J129Sv (wild-type control) mice were subjected to 70% PH or laparotomy. We found that MT was significantly decreased in IL-6 GKO mice, although PH induced hepatic MT in both strains of mice. Laparotomy induced MT in the liver of wild-type mice but not in IL-6 GKO mice. Pretreatment of IL-6 GKO mice with rIL-6 (5 microg/mouse) restored hepatic MT synthesis. Serum IL-6 level in wild-type mice was maximal at 6 h after surgery and decreased thereafter. Serum IL-1beta was the same in both strains of mice. Serum TNFalpha basal level in IL-6 GKO mice was higher than in wild-type mice. PH caused an increase in serum TNFalpha level in both strains of mice, and it was two times higher in IL-6 GKO mice than in wild-type mice at 18 h after surgery. We conclude that IL-6 plays a predominant role in hepatic MT synthesis after PH, but that IL-6 GKO mice still reserve the capacity to synthesize MT by an as yet unidentified mechanism.     

Loss of desmin leads to impaired voluntary wheel running and treadmill exercise performance.

We examined voluntary wheel running and forced treadmill running exercise performance of wild-type mice and mice null for the desmin gene. When given access to a cage wheel, desmin null mice spent less time running and ran less far than wild-type mice. Wild-type mice showed a significant training effect with prolonged voluntary wheel running, as evidenced by an increase in mean running speed across the 3-wk exercise period, whereas desmin null mice did not. Desmin null mice also performed less well in acute treadmill stress and endurance tests compared with wild-type mice. We also evaluated serum creatine kinase (CK) activity in wild-type and desmin null mice in response to running. Voluntary running did not result in elevated CK activity in either wild-type or desmin null mice, whereas downhill treadmill running caused significant increases in serum CK activity in both wild-type and desmin null mice. However, the increase in serum CK was significantly less in desmin null mice than in wild-type mice. These results suggest that the lack of desmin adversely affects the ability of mice to engage in both chronic and acute bouts of endurance running exercise but that this decrement in performance is not associated with an increase in serum CK activity.