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. 2018 Aug 14;11(2):303-305.
doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2018.07.011.

What's in a (Sub)strain?

Jill M Goldstein  1 , Amy J Wagers  2
Affiliations

What's in a (Sub)strain?

Jill M Goldstein et al. Stem Cell Reports. .

Abstract

C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N inbred mice are widely, and often interchangeably, used for stem cell research; yet, these substrains harbor discrete genetic differences that can cause phenotypic disparities. In this issue of Stem Cell Reports, Morales-Hernández et al. identify one particular difference-disruption of Nicotinamide Nucleotide Transhydrogenase (Nnt)-that increases reactive oxygen exposure and impairs hematopoietic progenitor cell function in C57BL/6J, as compared to C57BL/6N, mice.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
C57BL/6 Substrain-Specific Genetic Differences in Nnt Expression Influence Short-Term Blood Repopulation after Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cell Transplantation (A) 2-month-old C57BL/6N (left) and C57BL/6J (right) mice. C57BL/6N mice possess an intact Nnt gene, whereas Nnt is disrupted in C57BL/6J. (B) Hematopoietic progenitors from C57BL/6N mice (top) exhibit lower ROS levels and increased short-term blood cell reconstitution after transplantation relative to C57BL/6J mice (bottom). shRNA-mediated knockdown of Nnt in C57BL/6N hematopoietic progenitors (bottom) recapitulates the increased ROS levels and impaired hematopoietic cell repopulation after transplantation observed in the C57BL/6J substrain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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