Mus Musculus

Madeira is a small volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean with steep mountains separating narrow valleys that are the only areas habitable by humans and their commensals. Here we show that house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) on Madeira have an unexpected chromosomal diversity, the evolution of which is independent of adaptive processes, relying instead on geographic isolation and genetic drift.

Platelet transfusions are done to increase the number of platelets of a patient suffering from thrombocytopenia. However, due to post-complications that are present in patients who underwent this treatment, albumin transfusions, using fractionized human serum albumin, are acceptable as treatment. Bovine serum albumin has 80% sequence homology with human serum albumin by having a similar folding, which is why the two serum albumins are frequently used in biochemical studies. This study determined the percent increase in the number of platelets of thrombocytopenic Mus musculus (white mice) after the infusion of bovine serum albumin (BSA). The BSA infusions were administered to the test organisms intravenously. Blood samples of all the white mice were collected before and after the infusions of BSA using the tail-nicking method. The platelets were photographed under the microscope and were counted manually. In this study, alpha level of significance was set to 0.05. The results showed a significant increase in the numbers of platelets in all the subgroups of the Thrombocytopenic Group. The BSA infusions were able to increase the number of platelets of thrombocytopenic white mice after the infusions. But the increase was not higher than the increase in the number of platelets of thrombocytopenic white mice after normal recovery. Normal recovery from the induced thrombocytopenia had the highest percent increase in the number of platelets. A normal response to thrombocytopenia, the megakarcyocyte size and ploidy increases resulting to increased platelet production. During thrombocytopenia, elevated megakaryocyte mass serves as a “sink” which results in the reduction in the levels of circulating thrombopoietin to achieve homeostasis. However, when the BSA was infused, the increase in the number of platelets was not higher compared to the increase in normal recovery from thrombocytopenia. It can be concluded that BSA does in fact have a role in platelet production but it is not yet known how it can affect the platelet production in thrombocytopenic mice. This supports the conclusion of Thon and Italiano (2010) that despite recent advances, the mechanistic processes of platelet production are not fully understood.