VIB-KU Leuven 3 articles published in JoVE Neuroscience In Vivo Electrophysiological Measurement of Compound Muscle Action Potential from the Forelimbs in Mouse Models of Motor Neuron Degeneration Eveliina Pollari1,2, Robert Prior1,2, Wim Robberecht1,2,3, Philip Van Damme1,2,3, Ludo Van Den Bosch1,2 1Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, 2Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, 3Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven The measurement of nerve conduction is a useful tool to assess mouse models of neurodegeneration but it is frequently only applied to stimulate the sciatic nerve in hindlimbs. Here, we describe a technique to measure compound muscle action potential (CMAP) in vivo in the mouse forelimb muscles innervated by the brachial plexus. Developmental Biology Structure-function Studies in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells Using Recombinase-mediated Cassette Exchange Tim Pieters1,2,3,4, Lieven Haenebalcke1,2, Kenneth Bruneel1,2,4, Niels Vandamme1,2,4, Tino Hochepied1,2, Jolanda van Hengel5, Dagmar Wirth6, Geert Berx1,2,4, Jody J. Haigh7, Frans van Roy1,2,4, Steven Goossens1,2,3,4 1Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University, 2Inflammation Research Center, VIB, 3Center for Medical Genetics, Ghent University Hospital, 4Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), 5Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, 6Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, 7Mammalian Functional Genetics Laboratory, Division of Blood Cancers, Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, Department of Clinical Haematology, Monash University and Alfred Health Alfred Centre Proteins often contain multiple domains that can exert different cellular functions. Gene knock-outs (KO) do not consider this functional diversity. Here, we report a recombination-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE)-based structure-function approach in KO embryonic stem cells that allows for the molecular dissection of various functional domains or variants of a protein. Immunology and Infection Co-immunoprecipitation of the Mouse Mx1 Protein with the Influenza A Virus Nucleoprotein Judith Verhelst1,2, Dorien De Vlieger1,2, Xavier Saelens1,2 1Inflammation Research Center, VIB, 2Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University This co-immunoprecipitation protocol allows to study the interaction between the influenza A virus nucleoprotein and the antiviral Mx1 protein in human cells. The protocol emphasizes the importance of N-ethylmaleimide for successful co-immunoprecipitation of Mx1 and influenza A virus nucleoprotein.
