精子介导的转基因技术

精子介导的转基因技术是近十几年发展起来的一种新技术。从各个种的实验证明,精子有瞬间吸收外源DNA的能力。这一过程由一系列因子起重要调节作用。一种特异的DNA结合蛋白介导了外源DNA与精子的结合,同时精浆中存在一种因子起抑制两者结合的拮抗作用。CD4分子与外源基因的内化有关。内化的DNA可能与精子核支架结构（nuclear scaffold)结合,并整合或重排。但仍需要大量实验数据进一步证明是否产生真正可遗传的转基因后代,及如何提高转基因效率,以使这一方法得到普遍的推广及应用。     

山羊精子结合和内化外源DNA的特征及影响因素

外源DNA与精子相互作用后的定位及内化率是精子载体法制备转基因动物的关键环节.实验以标记的DNA片段为示踪材料,就精子与外源DNA相互作用的基本特征及影响因素进行了研究.结果表明:山羊精子可自发性结合外源DNA,外源DNA最初结合于顶体后区质膜外表面,随后部分内化进入细胞内.精子对外源DNA的结合和内化能力随供体的不同而差异明显,在实验所检查的35只公羊中,结合率(DNaseⅠ消化前)波动于4.6%～62.4%,内化率(DNaseⅠ消化后)波动于2.1%～53.8%,个体间差异显著(P<0.01).对于同一供体的精子而言,阻止DNA结合的最主要因素是精浆,与射出的原精液相比,洗涤后精子的结合率和内化率分别提高了3倍和5倍;其次精子获能也将导致结合率和内化率降低(P<0.01).死精子不能完成外源DNA的内化过程,但反复冻融导致质膜破裂的死精子具有更高的结合率,而且阳性率与动物个体无关.上述结果提示,筛选合适的精子供体,采用优化的转染处理方法是提高精子载体方法效率的前提和保证.     

精子结合外源DNA的特征及影响因素

外源DNA与精子相互作用后的定位及内化率是精子载体法制备转基因动物的关键环节。实验以标记的DNA片段为示踪材料,就精子与外源DNA相互作用的基本特征及影响因素进行了研究。结果表明：山羊精子可自发性结合外源DNA,外源DNA最初结合于顶体后区质膜外表面,随后部分内化进入细胞内。精子对外源DNA的结合和内化能力随供体的不同而差异明显,在实验所检查的35只公羊中,结合率（DNaseⅠ消化前）波动于4.6% ~ 62.4%,内化率（DNaseⅠ消化后）波动于2.1% ~ 53.8%,个体间差异显著（P<0.01）。对于同一供体的精子而言,阻止DNA结合的最主要因素是精浆,与射出的原精液相比,洗涤后精子的结合率和内化率分别提高了3倍和5倍;其次精子获能也将导致结合率和内化率降低（P<0.01）。死精子不能完成外源DNA的内化过程,但反复冻融导致质膜破裂的死精子具有更高的结合率,而且阳性率与动物个体无关。上述结果提示,筛选合适的精子供体,采用优化的转染处理方法是提高精子载体方法效率的前提和保证。     

精子因素对精子载体法制备转基因山羊的影响

精子具有主动结合、转运、整合外源DNA的能力,并在受精时导入卵母细胞,获得转基因动物.精子介导基因转移(sperm-mediated gene transfer,SMGT)是目前获得转基因动物简单而高效的方法之一.精子因素是影响SMGT方法生产转基因动物的重要方面.本论文结合我们的研究针对转染用山羊(Capra hircus)精液的来源、精子质膜完整性、精液品质及发育阶段等精子因素影响精子结合外源DNA和SMGT方法生产转基因山羊的效率进行了论述,并从这些影响因素入手,提出了筛选精子供体、保持精液品质、调控质膜等措施,提高精子转染外源DNA能力和生产转基因动物的效率.     

利用精子介导法向蚕卵导入外源基因的研究

为建立家蚕转基因中切实可行、操作简便的外源基因导入方法,进行了精子介导法探索,以精子介导法的三种方式向家蚕导入所构建质粒pFbGFP,并通过PCR扩增和DNA印迹等手段,已连续两代从基因组DNA检测到导入外源基因GFP的存在,其中的一种导入方式到第二代阳性率约30% .结果表明该法可有效进行家蚕转基因的外源基因导入.     

精子介导GFP基因在小鼠早期胚胎中的表达

利用DIG末端标记技术和免疫组化技术分析了小鼠精子体外结合内化外源DNA的效率。试验结果表明,不同小鼠个体的精子结合外源DNA的阳性率有明显差异(P<0.01),平均为13%。利用考马斯亮蓝染色评价了小鼠精子顶体反应发生的情况,筛选出TYH培养液为较合适的体外受精液。利用小鼠体外受精技术,将体外转染GFP基因并获能的小鼠精子与成熟卵母细胞进行体外受精,受精卵进行体外培养,表达GFP胚胎的阳性率为4.7%。验证了精子介导制备转基因小鼠胚胎的可行性,并建立了利用精子载体法制备转基因小鼠胚胎的平台。     

精子介导转基因动物的研究进展

精子是高度分化的细胞,它具有潜在的结合外源DNA并在受精过程中将其转入到卵内的能力。随着受精卵的发育,外源基因将随机整合到受体基因组中,部分基因能在成体中表达,部分基因不仅能表达还能遗传给后代。一旦精子能表达外源基因,那么将很容易得到大量的转基因后代。因此,精子能携带外源基因入卵和产量丰富这两大特性使精子作为载体制备转基因动物成为一个简便的途径。精子载体法制备转基因动物无需昂贵的实验设备,亦无需专门的技术。因此,提出后就备受关注。介绍精子介导的转基因动物的制作原理及具体方法的研究进展。     

精子载体法制备转基因动物的研究进展

精子载体法是一种低成本、简单快速制备转基因动物的方法.外源基因主要通过两种方式实现基因整合,一种是直接整合到精子的基因组中;另一种是通过精子携带进入卵细胞,然后整合到受精卵的基因组中.尽管现在已经有很多利用精子载体法获得了转基因动物的研究,但是基于精子在受精过程中,结合、内化、以及转运外源基因等方面能力的差异,转染效率仍有待提高.就利用精子载体法制备转基因动物过程中,精子载体法制备转基因动物的分子机制和方法方面进行系统的阐述和分析.     

精子介导GFP基因在小鼠早期胚胎中的表达

利用 DIG 末端标记技术和免疫组化技术分析了小鼠精子体外结合内化外源DNA的效率。试验结果表明,不同小鼠个体的精子结合外源DNA的阳性率有明显差异（P<0.01）,平均为13%。利用考马斯亮蓝染色评价了小鼠精子顶体反应发生的情况,筛选出TYH培养液为较合适的体外受精液。利用小鼠体外受精技术,将体外转染GFP基因并获能的小鼠精子与成熟卵母细胞进行体外受精,受精卵进行体外培养,表达GFP胎的阳性率为4.7%。验证了精子介导制备转基因小鼠胚胎的可行性,并建立了利用精子载体法制备转基因小鼠胚胎的平台。     

精子载体法转基因动物的分子机制与制备策略

精子载体法转基因由于具有简便易行、对胚胎发育影响小的特点而成为最具诱惑力的转基因方法之一,因此研究者们在不同的水平上对该方法进行了研究。从分子水平上简要分析了探讨精子结合外源DNA及其内化转运的机制、外源DNA在精细胞内的存在和降解;基于各种理论研究的进展总结了精子载体法制备转基因动物的策略。     

Sperm cells and foreign DNA: a controversial relation

Sperm cells from a variety of species share the spontaneous ability to take up foreign DNA. That feature has been exploited to generate genetically modified animals with variable efficiency in different species. An unexpectedly large set of factors appears to modulate the interaction of sperm cells with exogenous DNA. The binding is mediated by specific DNA-binding proteins and is antagonized by an inhibitory factor in the seminal fluid. A portion of sperm-bound DNA is internalized in nuclei, a process mediated by CD4 molecules. Sperm interaction with foreign DNA triggers endogenous nuclease(s) that cleaves both the exogenous and the genomic DNA, eventually leading to a cell death process which resembles apoptosis. Internalized foreign DNA sequences reach the nuclear matrix and undergo recombination with chromosomal DNA. From these studies, a surprising network of metabolic functions is beginning to emerge in mature spermatozoa, which are normally repressed and are specifically activated upon exposure to appropriate stimuli. BioEssays 20:955–964, 1998. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

DNA uptake in swine sperm: Effect of plasmid topology and methyl‐beta‐cyclodextrin‐mediated cholesterol depletion

Sperm‐mediated gene transfer (SMGT), the ability of sperm cells to spontaneously incorporate exogenous DNA and to deliver it to oocytes during fertilization, has been proposed as an easy and efficient method for producing transgenic animals. SMGT is still undergoing development and optimization to improve the uptake efficiency of foreign DNA by sperm cells, which is a preliminary, yet critical, step for successful SMGT. Towards this aim, we developed a quantitative, real‐time PCR‐based assay to assess the absolute number of exogenous plasmids internalized into the spermatozoon. Using this technique, we found that the circular form of the DNA is more efficiently taken up than the linearized form. We also found that DNA internalization into the nucleus of porcine sperm cells is better under specific methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (MCD)‐treated conditions, where the plasma membrane properties were altered without significantly compromising sperm physiology. These results provide the first evidence that membrane cholesterol depletion by MCD might represent a novel strategy for enhancing the ability of sperm to take up heterologous DNA. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 79: 853–860, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Evidence for nuclear internalization of exogenous DNA into mammalian sperm cells

Mature sperm cells have the spontaneous capacity to take up exogenous DNA. Such DNA specifically interacts with the subacrosomal segment of the sperm head corresponding to the nuclear area. Part of the sperm-bound foreign DNA is further internalized into nuclei. Using end-labelled plasmid DNA we have found that 15–22% of the total sperm bound DNA is associated with nuclei as determined on isolated nuclei. On the basis of autoradiographic analysis, nuclear permeability to exogenous DNA seems to be a wide phenomenon involving the majority of the sperm nuclei. In fact, the foreign DNA, incubated with sperm cells for different lengths of time, is found in 45% (10 min) to 65% (2 hr) of the sperm nuclei. Ultrastructural autoradiography on thin sections of mammalian spermatozoa, preincubated with end-labelled plasmid DNA, shows that the exogenous DNA is internalized into the nucleus. This conclusion is further supported by ultrastructural autoradiographic analysis on thin sections of nuclei isolated from spermatozoa preincubated with end-labelled DNA. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

REVIEW: Spermatozoa,DNA binding and transgenic animals

The idea that sperm cells could be used as an effective tool for introducing exogenous DNA into an oocyte at fertilization is generally regarded with scepticism. However, in recent years, several investigators have been working on different aspects of this intriguing research topic. In the present review, their results are summarised and discussed. Sections have been dedicated to the way DNA molecules bind to spermatozoa of different species, to the events regulating such binding, to the fate of the DNA within sperm cells, and to the attempts made to produce transgenic animals with this method. The data available on the interaction between DNA and spermatozoa begin to explain how this event takes place and how it is regulated. However, the stable integration of exogenous genes into the genome of adult animals mediated by sperm cells is a very rare event, although several reports describe forms of partial success. Available evidence suggests that changes to the DNA molecules, oc curring mostly within the oocyte, represents the limiting step in the production of transgenic animals using spermatozoa as vectors of exogenous genes. At present there are not enough data to understand what happens to sperm-associated DNA upon its entrance into the oocyte at fertilization. Therefore, it has not yet been resolved whether sperm-mediated gene transfer is a possible way to manipulate the genome or if evolution has imposed some unsurpassable barriers to its use     

The incorporation of macromolecules into the germ cells of male mice via electroporation and dimethyl sulfoxide

Electroporation (incorporation of macromolecules into the living cells by means of electric pulses) provides inclusion of plasmid 14C-DNA into immature cells of spermatogenic epithelium. The highest level of foreign DNA incorporation into spermatocytes and spermatids has been induced by 8kV electric pulses applied 3 times with 20 sec intervals. Meanwhile, mature sperms are found to be exclusively resistant to exogenous DNA irrespective of the voltage level, the number of pulses and Ca++ uptake (contents). Incubation of mature sperms for two hours in the medium with Ca++ (10 mM) and dimethylsulfoxide--(DMSO, 33%) provides highly reliable incorporation of plasmid 14C-DNA into sperm heads. The sperm cells with foreign DNA incorporated by means of Ca++ and DMSO treatment still remain alive and mobile. The possibilities of mature sperms loaded with foreign DNA for the creation of transgenic mammals are discussed.     

Sperm mediated gene transfer in pig: Selection of donor boars and optimization of DNA uptake

Transgenic animals are produced primarily by microinjecting exogenous DNA into the male pronuclei of a zygote. Microinjection is successful in mice but not efficient in farm animals, limiting its general utility. We have pursued an alternative technology for producing transgenic animals: Sperm Mediated Gene Transfer (SMGT). Based on our finding that sperm cells bind and internalize exogenous DNA, we used sperm as a vector for transmitting, not only their own DNA, but also, the exogenously-introduced gene of interest to the zygote. SMGT is highly efficient (up to greater than 80%) and relatively inexpensive; it can be used in species refractory to microinjection, whenever reproduction is mediated by gametes. In this report, we describe the procedure for selection of sperm donors and optimization of DNA uptake that are the key steps for the successful outcome of SMGT. We found that the nominal parameters that boar sperm should possess to serve as a good vector for exogenous DNA are the quality of semen based on standard parameters used in conventional animal breeding programs (volume, concentration, presence of abnormal sperm cells, motility at time of collection, and high progressive motility after 2 hr) and the ability of the sperm cells to take up and internalize exogenous DNA. The results described provide significant advances in SMGT technology applied to pigs, so that transgenic pigs can be efficiently obtained. Mol.     

Effect of exogenous DNA on bovine sperm functionality using the sperm mediated gene transfer (SMGT) technique

Sperm mediated gene transfer (SMGT) could provide the opportunity to carry out transgenesis on a mass scale using spermatozoa as vectors for exogenous DNA. However, the efficiency of sperm‐mediated DNA transfer is still questionable, and the mode of transmission to the egg has not yet been well understood. Our aim was to investigate the capacity of bovine spermatozoa to carry exogenous DNA and its relationship to sperm functionality. We studied these parameters using flow cytometry to measure viability (necrosis and apoptosis) and capacitation status, computer‐assisted semen analysis (CASA) to measure motility parameters and in vitro fertilization (IVF) to assess fertilizing capacity. Furthermore, we studied the effect of capacitation status on interaction with exogenous DNA, and the role of heparin supplementation in this process. Bull spermatozoa showed a high capacity to bind DNA quickly and reached a maximum after 30 min, with approximately half of the DNA‐bound spermatozoa being viable. Incubation with exogenous DNA induced a decrease in sperm viability and motility and increased the proportion of apoptotic cells, but did not affect the cleavage rate in IVF assay. Heparin increased high‐lipid disorder and the number of sperm with DNA bound (viable and dead). In conclusion, this study shows that live spermatozoa can bind exogenous DNA with a slight negative effect in some parameters of sperm function that in our opinion, would not drastically compromise fertility. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 77: 687–698, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

外源基因对精子的影响及其在山羊早期胚胎中的表达

摘要: 在前期实验中发现, 山羊精子可自发结合外源DNA, 但结合能力在不同动物个体之间差异显著。挑选结合能力明显不同的3只公羊, 进一步探讨了外源DNA对精子的影响及其在早期胚胎中的表达, 结果发现: 外源基因与精子共同孵育后, 精子的活率、顶体反应发生率和受精能力均呈下降态势, 其降幅与精子的结合能力密切相关。利用与DNA共育后的精子进行体外受精, 外源基因可被导入卵母细胞并在早期胚胎中获得表达, 但胚胎阳性率因精子供体不同而差异显著(P<0.05); 其中来源于高、中结合能力供体生产的胚胎, 分别有16.2%(25/154)和5.3%(4/76)可检测到外源基因存在, 但表达仅见于高结合能力供体生产的早期胚胎, 表达率为6.5%(10/154); 低结合能力供体生产的胚胎无外源基因。研究表明, 在以精子载体方法生产转基因动物的实验过程中, 筛选对DNA结合能力较强的精子供体是提高转基因效率的前提, 但需要考虑外源DNA对精子受精能力的影响。     

Evaluation of DNase activity in seminal plasma and uptake of exogenous DNA by spermatozoa of the Brazilian flounder Paralichthys orbignyanus

Sperm mediated gene transfer (SMGT) has been successfully used in mammals, amphibians, birds, and some invertebrates. In fish, this methodology has failed or had poor efficiency for the production of transgenic specimens, presumably because the processes regulating the interaction between spermatozoa and exogenous DNA are not well understood. Therefore, the objective was to develop a SMGT protocol for the Brazilian flounder Paralichthys orbignyanus, with an emphasis on the role of seminal plasma DNase on exogenous DNA uptake by fish spermatozoa. In this study, there was strong DNase activity in the seminal plasma of P. orbignyanus; however, this DNase activity was decreased or eliminated by washing the spermatozoa with solutions containing EDTA (DNase activity was completely inhibited by 40 mM EDTA). Three washing solutions were tested, all of which maintained sperm quality. Moreover, it was determined that the no more than 50 ng of exogenous DNA/10(6) cells should be used for SMGT in fish. Finally, it was demonstrated that fish spermatozoa were capable of spontaneous uptake of exogenous DNA after elimination of DNase activity; this was confirmed by exogenous DNA amplification (PCR using sperm genomic DNA as a template) after DNase I treatment. We concluded that whereas DNase activity was an important obstacle for exogenous DNA uptake by fish spermatozoa; controlling this activity improved the efficiency of SMGT in fish.     

The interaction between exogenous DNA and sperm cells.

Epididymal sperm cells, incubated with plasmid DNA, showed a spontaneous tendency to interact with the exogenous nucleic acid. We have investigated the molecular basis of such interaction. Exogenous DNA is taken up by sperm cells over a 15- to 20-min period and is specifically localized on the nuclear area of the sperm head. DNA was reversibly bound to spermatozoa since it can be competed out by excess of cold competitor DNA or by other polyanions as heparin and dextran sulphate. By contrast, poly-L-lysine, a polycation, favours the uptake. DNA molecules of large size (7 kb) were preferentially taken up as compared to smaller ones (150-750 bp). Acidic proteins were also taken up and concentrated, as for DNA, at the nuclear level. These data strongly suggested that ionic interactions may occur between foreign molecules and a substrate located in the sperm head. On the basis of Southwestern analysis, a sperm head protein(s) of 30-35 KD is identified as potential substrate for exogenous DNA binding. Moreover, we have found that seminal plasma contains factor(s) which abolish sperm permeability, exerting a powerful inhibitor effect on DNA uptake. The presence of a specific binding protein for the DNA and of a factor inhibiting such interaction support the existence of a mechanism controlling, through specific factors, the sperm-DNA interaction.