Bibliography: leaves 148-189. / viii, 189 leaves, [5] leaves of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / A transgenic rat model was developed to allow the study of the effects of GH expression, growth regulation and reproductive function. Transgenic rats were created by pronuclear microinjection of a human metallothionein promoter porcine growth hormone (pGH) gene construct. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 1996?

The presence of amyloid plaques in the hippocampus highlights the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease. Manual segmentation of amyloid plaques is very time consuming and increases the time that can be used to monitor the distribution of amyloid plaques. Distribution carries significant information about disease progression and the impact of potential therapy. The automatic or semi-automatic segmentation method can lead to significant savings in the time which are required when the disease has rapid progression. The description of amyloid plaques and the computed tomography are included in this work. In this diploma thesis are three implemented algorithms, two of them are based on published articles and one’s own methodological solution. The conclusion of the thesis is a quantitative evaluation of the accuracy of implemented segmentation procedures.

Aim: Obesity is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. Recently it was shown that overexpression of the Mas-receptor antagonist angiotensin(1-7) could prevent from diet-induced obesity. However, it remained unclear whether diet-induced obesity and angiotensin(1-7) overexpression might also have effects on the cardiovascular system in these rats. Methods:Twenty three male Sprague Dawley rats were fed with standard chow (SD+chow, n = 5) or a cafeteria diet (SD+CD, n = 6) for 5 months. To investigate the effect of angiotensin(1-7) transgenic rats, expressing an angiotensin(1-7)-producing fusion protein in testis were used. These transgenic rats also received a 5 month's feeding period with either chow (TGR+chow, n = 6) or cafeteria diet (TGR+CD, n = 6), respectively. Hemodynamic measurements (pressure-volume loops) were carried out to assess cardiac function and blood pressure. Subsequently, hearts were explanted and investigated according to the Langendorff technique. Furthermore, cardiac remodeling in these animals was investigated histologically. Results:After 5 months cafeteria diet feeding rats showed a significantly increased body weight, which could be prevented in transgenic rats. However, there was no effect on cardiac performance after cafeteria diet in non-transgenic and transgenic rats. Moreover, overexpression of angiotensin(1-7) deteriorated cardiac contractility as indicated by impaired dp/dt. Furthermore, histological analysis revealed that cafeteria diet led to myocardial fibrosis in both, control and transgenic rats and this was not inhibited by an overproduction of angiotensin(1-7). Conclusion:These results indicate that an overexpression of circulating angiotensin(1-7) prevents a cafeteria diet-induced increase in body weight, but does not affect cardiac performance in this experimental rat model of obesity. Furthermore, overexpression of angiotensin(1-7) alone resulted in an impairment of cardiac function.

Die meisten Patienten mit hypertropher Kardiomyopathie und kongenitalen Herzerkrankungen exprimieren die atriale essentielle leichte Myosinkette (ALC-1) im Ventrikel, wo sie teilweise die ventrikuläre essentielle leichte Myosinkette (VLC-1) ersetzt. Diese VLC-1/ALC-1 Isoformveränderung korrelierte mit einem Anstieg der Zykluskinetik der Myosin-Querbrücken in chemisch gehäuteten Herzfasern aus hypertrophierten Humanventrikeln. Um die funktionelle Bedeutung der ALC-1 im gesamten intakten Herzen zu untersuchen, habe ich in der vorliegenden Arbeit ein transgenes Rattenmodell charakterisiert, das die humane ALC-1 (hALC-1) im Herzen exprimiert (TGR/hALC-1). WKY-Ratten dienten als genetisch korrekter Kontrollstamm. Mittels rekombinanter hALC-1 als Standard wurde die exprimierte hALC-1-Menge in SDS-Extrakten linker Ventrikel der TGR/hALC-1 im Western-Blot untersucht. 12 Wochen alte TGR/hALC-1 exprimierten etwa 17 mug hALC-1/mg SDS-Extrakt. Das exprimierte Transgen konnte in der Immunfluoreszenz zwischen den Z-Linien der Sarkomere lokalisiert werden. Die gerichtete Integrations des Transgens in das kardiale Myosinmolekül wurde zusätzlich noch in hochgereinigten Myosinpräparationen nachgewiesen. Analyse des linksventrikulären Proteoms durch 2D-PAGE, das zur Identifikation von etwa 3000 Proteinen führte, zeigte vergleichbare Proteinmuster in WKY und TGR/hALC-1. Die Untersuchungen der Kontraktilität des intakten isoliert perfundierten Herzen wurden mit Langendorff-Präparationen durchgeführt. Die Expression des hALC-1-Transgen führte zu statistisch signifikanten (p / Most patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congenital heart diseases express the atrial essential myosin light chains (ALC-1) in their ventricles, partially replacing the ventricular essential light chains (VLC-1). This VLC-1/ALC-1 isoform shift is correlated with an increase in cross-bridge cycling kinetics as measured using chemically skinned fibers from the hypertrophied ventricles of human hearts. To study the functional importance of hALC-1 in the whole intact perfused-heart, a transgenic rat model overexpressing hALC-1 (TGR/hALC-1) in the heart was generated. WKY rats were used as the respective genetically correct control strain. Using hALC-1HIST protein as a standard, the amount of transgenic protein expression was quantified by Immunoblot analysis of the left ventricular tissue extracts of the transgenic rats. Twelve-week-old TGR/hALC-1 expressed around 17mug hALC-1 per mg of whole SDS-soluble protein. The transgene was localized in-between the Z-lines of the sarcomere by immunofluoresecnce microscopy. Furthermore, the proper integration of the transgene into the rat ventricular myosin was confirmed by purifying myosin from rat ventricular tissues. Whole ventricular proteome analysis by 2D-PAGE, resolved approximately 3000 proteins spots in each TGR/hALC-1 and WKY animal. The whole protein expression patterns in both animal groups showed no differences with the exception of the transgenic hALC-1 protein spot. The perfused heart contractility parameters were evaluated using the Langendorff preparation. Expression of hALC-1 was accompanied by statistically significant improvements (p