A Transgenic Prox1-Cre-tdTomato Reporter Mouse for Lymphatic Vessel Research

The lymphatic vascular system plays an active role in immune cell trafficking, inflammation and cancer spread. In order to provide an in vivo tool to improve our understanding of lymphatic vessel function in physiological and pathological conditions, we generated and characterized a tdTomato reporter mouse and crossed it with a mouse line expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the lymphatic specific promoter Prox1 in an inducible fashion. We found that the tdTomato fluorescent signal recapitulates the expression pattern of Prox1 in lymphatic vessels and other known Prox1-expressing organs. Importantly, tdTomato co-localized with the lymphatic markers Prox1, LYVE-1 and podoplanin as assessed by whole-mount immunofluorescence and FACS analysis. The tdTomato reporter was brighter than a previously established red fluorescent reporter line. We confirmed the applicability of this animal model to intravital microscopy of dendritic cell migration into and within lymphatic vessels, and to fluorescence-activated single cell analysis of lymphatic endothelial cells. Additionally, we were able to describe the early morphological changes of the lymphatic vasculature upon induction of skin inflammation. The Prox1-Cre-tdTomato reporter mouse thus shows great potential for lymphatic research.     

A Transgenic Mouse Assay for Agouti Protein Activity

The mouse agouti gene encodes an 131 amino acid paracrine signaling molecule that instructs hair follicle melanocytes to switch from making black to yellow pigment. Expression of agouti during the middle part of the hair growth cycle in wild-type mice produces a yellow band on an otherwise black hair. The ubiquitous unregulated expression of agouti in mice carrying dominant yellow alleles is associated with pleiotropic effects including increased yellow pigment in the coat, obesity, diabetes and increased tumor susceptibility. Agouti shows no significant homology to known genes, and the molecular analysis of agouti alleles has shed little new light on the important functional elements of the agouti protein. In this paper, we show that agouti expression driven by the human β-ACTIN promoter produces obese yellow transgenic mice and that this can be used as an assay for agouti activity. We used this assay to evaluate a point mutation associated with the a(16H) allele within the region encoding agouti's putative signal sequence and our results suggest that this mutation is sufficient to cause the a(16H) phenotype. Thus, in vitro mutagenesis followed by the generation of transgenic mice should allow us to identify important functional elements of the agouti protein.     

动脉粥样硬化基因工程小鼠模型

建立可靠的动脉粥样硬化动物模型对于探明其病因、发病机制及防治药物的开发均具有重要的意义。本文介绍了载脂蛋白、脂质代谢有关的受体、脂质代谢有关的酶和转运蛋白等十几种动脉粥样硬化相关基因的基因工程小鼠模型的特点及应用。     

采用GUS标记技术研究钙调素在转基因烟草中的分布

为了监测钙调素 (Ca M)在植物细胞内的分布并探索其生物学功能 ,将水稻 Ca M和 GU S融合基因 (cam.gus)分别置于 35 S启动子和花粉特异启动子 L AT5 2 - 7控制下 ,构建出载体 p MD/ Ca M.GU S和 p BI/ L AT.Ca M.GU S,转化烟草 (N icotiana tobacum cv.SR ) ,GU S染色结果显示 ,Ca M.GU S融合蛋白广泛分布于植物根、茎、叶等组织 ,根尖生长点细胞、根毛细胞、表皮毛细胞、气孔保卫细胞、维管束细胞的细胞质中融合蛋白含量较多。花粉粒中也分布着 Ca M,并在萌发沟处表现出较高的浓度。保卫细胞和表皮毛细胞中 Ca M分布在相邻细胞连接处细胞模内侧 ,呈现出极性分布。研究结果表明 ,细胞内 Ca M的不均匀分布可能与细胞功能相关。     

造血干细胞特异性表达Cre重组酶转基因小鼠的建立

EDAG是在胚胎发育阶段造血干细胞特异性表达的基因.为了在早期造血组织细胞中实现相关基因的条件敲除,构建了含有早期造血组织特异性表达的EDAG启动子和Cre重组酶基因的转基因EDAG-Cre表达载体质粒.通过显微注射的方法将线性化的5.6kb的EDAG-Cre转基因片段导入小鼠受精卵细胞核,获得的新生小鼠经过PCR鉴定,常规方法培育传代.结果发现,共获得了6只阳性转基因首建鼠,其中4只已经建系并稳定传代.RT-PCR分析表明Cre重组酶基因在阳性转基因小鼠的骨髓、脾脏、胸腺、外周血以及胎肝等组织中均有表达,重组酶活性也在脾和骨髓中获得确认.EDAG-Cre重组酶转基因小鼠的建立,为研究早期造血组织以及造血干细胞特异性基因条件敲除小鼠模型的建立奠定了基础.     

R26R-GR: A Cre-Activable Dual Fluorescent Protein Reporter Mouse

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) and its derivatives are the most widely used molecular reporters for live cell imagining. The development of organelle-specific fusion fluorescent proteins improves the labeling resolution to a higher level. Here we generate a R26 dual fluorescent protein reporter mouse, activated by Cre-mediated DNA recombination, labeling target cells with a chromatin-specific enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) and a plasma membrane-anchored monomeric cherry fluorescent protein (mCherry). This dual labeling allows the visualization of mitotic events, cell shapes and intracellular vesicle behaviors. We expect this reporter mouse to have a wide application in developmental biology studies, transplantation experiments as well as cancer/stem cell lineage tracing.     

miR-106b转基因小鼠的建立

目的:建立miR-106b转基因小鼠模型,探讨其在阿尔茨海默病(Alzheimer’s disease, AD)发病中的作用。方法:构建miR-106b表达载体,显微注射法建立miR-106b转基因小鼠。PCR鉴定转基因小鼠的基因型,real time RT-PCR检测miR-106b转基因小鼠脑组织中miR-106b的表达情况,Western blot检测miR-106b转基因小鼠脑组织中TGFBR2蛋白的表达。结果:构建了高表达miR-106b转基因小鼠;与对照相比,miR-106b转基因小鼠脑组织中TGFBR2蛋白的表达升高。结论:miR-106b转基因小鼠的建立为研究该microRNA在AD发病中的作用提供了工具。     

Generation and Characterization of a Transgenic Pig Carrying a DsRed-Monomer Reporter Gene

Background

Pigs are an optimal animal for conducting biomedical research because of their anatomical and physiological resemblance to humans. In contrast to the abundant resources available in the study of mice, few fluorescent protein-harboring porcine models are available for preclinical studies. In this paper, we report the successful generation and characterization of a transgenic DsRed-Monomer porcine model.

Methods

The transgene comprised a CMV enhancer/chicken-beta actin promoter and DsRed monomeric cDNA. Transgenic pigs were produced by using pronuclear microinjection. PCR and Southern blot analyses were applied for identification of the transgene. Histology, blood examinations and computed tomography were performed to study the health conditions. The pig amniotic fluid progenitor/stem cells were also isolated to examine the existence of red fluorescence and differentiation ability.

Results

Transgenic pigs were successfully generated and transmitted to offspring at a germ-line transmission rate of 43.59% (17/39). Ubiquitous expression of red fluorescence was detected in the brain, eye, tongue, heart, lung, liver, pancreas, spleen, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, kidney, testis, and muscle; this was confirmed by histology and western blot analyses. In addition, we confirmed the differentiation potential of amniotic fluid progenitor stem cells isolated from the transgenic pig.

Conclusions

This red fluorescent pig can serve as a host for other fluorescent-labeled cells in order to study cell-microenvironment interactions, and can provide optimal red-fluorescent-labeled cells and tissues for research in developmental biology, regenerative medicine, and xenotransplantation.     

Dicer1转基因小鼠模型的建立

目的建立Dicer1转基因小鼠模型。方法构建pcDNA3.1-Dicer1转基因构件,经酶切、纯化后通过显微注射方法导入BDF1小鼠受精卵原核并移植到同期受孕的ICR受体母鼠输卵管内。出生后仔鼠用PCR和Southern方法检测鼠尾DNA鉴定基因型,通过免疫组化检测Dicer1基因表达。结果显微注射172枚卵,移植119枚卵于3只受体输卵管中,2只怀孕,共产仔15只,经PCR检测获得6只阳性鼠,Southern检测6只均为阳性。对Southern检测阳性转基因小鼠子代进行RT-PCR检测和免疫组化分析证明Dicer1基因在肝脏、肾脏、肺内均有表达。对腹腔肿胀的转基因阳性1号鼠解剖发现肝脏、脾脏明显增大,胚胎发育异常。结论成功建立Dicer1基因表达的转基因小鼠模型,该模型为进一步研究DICER1基因功能及miRNA的表达及功能等奠定基础。     

庚型肝炎病毒转基因小鼠的建立

利用受精卵原核显微注射的方法,产生了含有ＨＧＶ结构蛋白Ｃ、Ｅ１、Ｅ２及部分非结构蛋白ＮＳ２、ＮＳ３的转基因小鼠。得到１０只ｆｏｕｍｄｅｒ小鼠,其中有３只ｆｏｕｎｄｅｒ小鼠与正常小鼠交配后得到了整合有外源基因的Ｆ１代阳性小鼠。ＲＴ－ＰＣＲ的结果显示,外源基因可在ｆｏｕｎｄｅｒ小鼠及Ｆ１代小鼠的血液有核细胞及肝细胞内转录;组织病理学检查显示,某些转基因小鼠的肝细胞出现了水样变、脂肪变性及轻微炎性反应等     

基于凝血因子IX基因剔除小鼠建立血友病乙转基因动物模型

为在凝血基因IX基因剔除小鼠基础上建立基因组中整合有含特定点突变的人凝血因子IX基因表达载体原转基因小鼠家系,为血友病乙的研究提供更接近临床实际的动物模型。利用体外定点突变技术,构建含有特定点突变的人凝因IX基因表达载体,该载体包括由人凝血因子IX编码区及第一内含子构成的人凝血因子IX基因（hFIXml）、4个拷贝的MCK增强子（MCKe）、鸡β－肌动蛋白启动子（bA）及PolyA,命名为pMe4bAIXml质粒。将其线性化后,用显微注射法注射入817只凝血因子IX基因剔除小鼠受精卵雄原核,再将它们分别回输45只假孕受体母鼠的输卵管中,共产仔69只,存活63只。采用PCR与基因组Southern杂交筛选法鉴定小鼠,证实6只小鼠基因组中整合有含特定点突变的pMe4bAIXml质粒,并对1只小鼠的PCR产物进行测序,证实转基因结构特征符合设计要求。     

小鼠HMGB1启动子荧光素酶报告基因的构建及功能鉴定

利用PCR技术扩增小鼠高迁移率族蛋白1(HMGB1)基因启动子序列,构建小鼠HMGB1启动子荧光素酶报告基因pGL3-basic-HMGB1.经PCR、酶切及测序鉴定后,用脂质体法将pGL3-basic-HMGB1转入巨噬细胞264.7中,并应用萤光素酶测定系统检测其活性.检测结果显示pGL3-basic-HMGB1具有启动子活性.小鼠HMGB1启动子荧光素酶报告基因pGL3-basic-HMGB1的成功构建,为进一步研究HMGB1提供基本材料.     

庚型肝炎病毒转基因小鼠的建立

利用受精卵原核显微注射的方法,产生了含有HGV结构蛋白C、E1、E2及部分非结构蛋白NS2、NS3的转基因小鼠.得到10只founder小鼠,其中有3只founder小鼠与正常小鼠交配后得到了整合有外源基因的F1代阳性小鼠.RT-PCR的结果显示,外源基因可在founder小鼠及F1代小鼠的血液有核细胞及肝细胞内转录;组织病理学检查显示,某些转基因小鼠的肝细胞出现了水样变、脂肪变性及轻微炎性反应等病理学改变,但与同一品系的正常小鼠相比,转基因小鼠血清转氨酶无明显升高.     

Pre-Clinical Applications of Transgenic Mouse Mammary Cancer Models

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality. Given that the majority of human breast cancers appear to be due to non-genetic factors, identifying agents and mechanisms of prevention is key to lowering the incidence of cancer. Genetically engineered mouse models of mammary cancer have been important in elucidating molecular pathways and signaling events associated with the initiation, promotion, and the progression of cancer. Since several transgenic mammary models of human breast cancer progress through well-defined cancer stages, they are useful pre-clinical systems to test the efficacy of chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents. This review outlines several oncogenic pathways through which mammary cancer can be induced in transgenic models and describes several types of preventive and therapeutic agents that have been tested in transgenic models of mammary cancer. The effectiveness of farnesyl inhibitors, aromatase inhibitors, differentiating agents, polyamine inhibitors, anti-angiogenic inhibitors, and immunotherapeutic compounds including vaccines have been evaluated in reducing mammary cancer and tumor progression in transgenic models.     

绿色荧光裸鼠的建立和验证

目的建立系统性表达绿色荧光蛋白的裸鼠,接种人源肺癌细胞验证该模型是否具有免疫缺陷性,并观察双色荧光的成像效果。方法利用系统性表达绿色荧光蛋白的C57BL/6J小鼠与BALB/C裸小鼠多代杂交和互交,建立稳定表达绿色荧光蛋白的裸鼠。大体解剖观察胸腺生长情况,整体和器官荧光成像验证绿色荧光蛋白的表达情况。以2×106/只的剂量对其皮下腋下接种表达红色荧光蛋白的人类A549肺癌细胞（RFP-A549）,通过观测肿瘤生长来验证模型的免疫缺陷性。同时,利用红色荧光标记的肿瘤和绿色宿主鼠,对双色的整体成像效果进行观测。结果构建出系统性表达绿色荧光蛋白的裸鼠,大体解剖可见胸腺缺失。在激发光的激发下,绿色荧光裸鼠全身发出清晰的绿色荧光,脑、心脏、肺脏、肝脏、肾脏,肠胃及胰腺等主要器官可见明显绿色荧光。接种RFP-A549细胞后,成瘤率达到100%,整体动物荧光成像表现出清晰的双色。结论本研究构建出的绿色荧光裸鼠,动物整体可以清晰地表达绿色荧光并具有免疫缺陷性     

Discussion Article: A Global Collaboration on Carcinogenicity Screening in Transgenic Mouse Models

Transgenic Research -     

胰腺组织表达Cre重组酶转基因小鼠的建立及鉴定

组织特异性表达Cre重组酶的转基因小鼠是进行组织特异性基因剔除研究的重要工具。为了建立胰腺组织特异性Cre转基因小鼠,我们通过PCR克隆了大鼠胰岛素基因启动子,并用它指导Cre基因在胰岛细胞中的特异性表达。在Cre重组酶基因5′端添加了真核核糖体结合序列和核定位序列以使Cre重组酶能穿越核膜在细胞核中发挥功能;同时,在Cre基因3′端添加了含内含子的3′端人生长激素基因。表达载体经显微注射导入小鼠受精卵以建立转基因小鼠。PCR检测显示共获得7只Cre整合阳性的转基因首建者小鼠;RTPCR结果表明其中1只首建者小鼠的子代鼠在胰腺中转录了外源基因,进一步的Southern杂交结果表明,该转基因小鼠能够在胰腺中表达有功能的Cre重组酶。      

A Mouse Model for Studying the Clearance of Hepatitis B Virus In Vivo Using a Luciferase Reporter

Hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection remains a global problem, despite the effectiveness of the Hepatitis B vaccine in preventing infection. The resolution of Hepatitis B virus infection has been believed to be attributable to virus-specific immunity. In vivo direct evaluation of anti-HBV immunity in the liver is currently not possible. We have developed a new assay system that detects HBV clearance in the liver after the hydrodynamic transfer of a reporter gene and over-length, linear HBV DNA into hepatocytes, followed by bioluminescence imaging of the reporter gene (Fluc). We employed bioluminescence detection of luciferase expression in HBV-infected hepatocytes to measure the Hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg)-specific immune responses directed against these infected hepatocytes. Only HBcAg-immunized, but not mock-treated, animals decreased the amounts of luciferase expression, HBsAg and viral DNA from the liver at day 28 after hydrodynamic infection with over-length HBV DNA, indicating that control of luciferase expression correlates with viral clearance from infected hepatocytes.