Figure 4. MMTV modulates BST-2 levels in non-lymphoid tissues.
C3H/HeN•MMTV+ mice infected via milk during nursing were sacrificed after 2 pregnancies (n = 5, age = 5 months) or allowed to develop mammary tumor (n = 5, age = 5 to 7 months). As stated above, mice bearing tumor were sacrificed in accordance to the policies of the University of Iowa Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Following euthanasia, bone marrow cells, liver, lung, heart, and kidney were collected and used for DNA and RNA extraction. Reverse transcribed RNA was used to quantify BST-2 mRNA levels (A to E) and viral RNA levels (G and I). DNA was used to quantify proviral DNA expression (F and H). PCR data are normalized to GAPDH and presented as fold change relative to samples from the naïve and infected mice. Error bars are standard deviation; ** is significance with p value less than 0.01 and * is significance with p value less than 0.05. Experiments were repeated several times with similar results.
