Young MCP-1 knockout mice versus young control mice

Young MCP-1 knockout mice (B6.129S4-Ccl2^tm1Rol/J) (5–6 weeks old; n = 6) and young C57BL/6J wild-type control female mice (5–6 weeks old; n = 5) were housed five to a cage and bred in house under specific pathogen-free conditions and normal light dark cycles (14-h light, 10-h dark cycle) with ad libitum access to standard mouse chow (ProLab® Isopro®, chemical composition = 5 % fat, 22 % protein, 59 % carbohydrate, 3.46 kcal/g; PMI Nutrition International, Brentwood, MO, USA) and water. All mice were sacrificed at 6 weeks of age by cervical dislocation. At the time of sacrifice, oophorectomy was performed and ovaries were snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored in −80 °C to be used for gene expression analysis.