动物基因工程三种诱导型表达系统及比较

诱导型基因表达系统已成为基因工程和病理学研究的重要工具。利用诱导型基因表达系统,可调控组织或细胞中重组基因在一定的时间里或一定的空间中表达,也能调控重组基因的表达水平。本文主要对近年来广泛应用的Cre/loxP、tet-off和tet-on三种诱导型基因表达系统的发展和应用进行综述。     

Germline transmission and efficient DNA recombination in mouse embryonic stem cells mediated by adenoviral-Cre transduction

Following gene targeting, a loxP-neo-loxP cassette was introduced into ES cells. The presence of a selectable marker such as neo in the targeted allele may result in gene interference in flox mice or unexpected phenotypes due to genetic ambiguity in direct knockout mice. Typically, the neo cassette is selectively removed by transient expression of the Cre recombinase in targeted ES cell. However, this method involves a tedious process of selecting, expanding, and screening ES cell clones which may compromise germline competency. Here, we describe a novel method of combining adenovirus-Cre mediated gene recombination with ES gene targeting to facilitate efficient loxP-neo-loxP removal in ES cells. We demonstrate that adenovirus-Cre infected ES cells can retain their germline competency. The procedures described here facilitate a rapid genetic manipulation of ES cells to obtain neo-free knockout animals, multiple gene targeting, homozygous mutant ES cells ideal for in vitro characterization, or Rag-deficient blastocyst complementation.     

Enhanced purification of cell-permeant Cre and germline transmission after transduction into mouse embryonic stem cells

Continuous expression of Cre recombinase has the potential to yield toxic side effects in various cell types, thereby limiting applications of the Cre/loxP system for conditional mutagenesis. In this study, we investigate the potential of Cre protein transduction to overcome this limitation. COS-7, CV1-5B, and mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells treated with cell-permeant Cre (HTNCre) maintain a normal growth behavior employing Cre concentrations sufficient to induce recombination in more than 90% of the cells, whereas continuous application of high doses resulted in markedly reduced proliferation. HTNCre-treated ES cells maintain a normal karyotype and are still able to contribute to the germline. Moreover, we present an enhanced HTNCre purification protocol that allows the preparation of a concentrated glycerol stock solution, thereby enabling a considerable simplification of the Cre protein transduction procedure. The protocol described here allows rapid and highly efficient conditional mutagenesis of cultured cells.     

A chemical-regulated inducible RNAi system in plants

Constitutive expression of an intron-containing self-complementary 'hairpin' RNA (ihpRNA) has recently been shown to efficiently silence target genes in transgenic plants. However, this technique cannot be applied to genes whose silencing may block plant regeneration or result in embryo lethality. To obviate these potential problems, we have used a chemical-inducible Cre/loxP (CLX) recombination system to trigger the expression of an intron-containing inverted-repeat RNA (RNAi) in plants. A detailed characterization of the inducible RNAi system in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana plants demonstrated that this system is stringently controlled. Moreover, it can be used to induce silencing of both transgenes and endogenous genes at different developmental stages and at high efficiency and without any detectable secondary affects. In addition to inducing complete silencing, the RNAi can be produced at various times after germination to initiate and obtain different degrees of gene silencing. Upon induction, transgenic plants with genetic chimera were obtained as demonstrated by PCR analysis. Such chimeric plants may provide a useful system to study signaling mechanisms of gene silencing in Arabidopsis as well as other cases of long-distance signaling without grafting. The merits of using the inducible CLX system for RNAi expression are discussed.     

Efficient DNA cassette exchange in mouse embryonic stem cells by staggered positive-negative selection

Recombinase-mediated cassette exchange (RMCE), when applied to mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells, promises to increase the ease with which genetic alterations can be introduced into targeted genomic loci in the mouse. However, existing selection strategies for identifying ES cells in which replacement DNA cassettes from a carrier plasmid have been exchanged correctly into a defined locus are suboptimal. Here, we report the generation in mouse ES cells of a loxed cassette acceptor (LCA) allele within the glucokinase (gk) gene locus. Using the gkLCA as a test allele, we developed a staggered positive-negative selection strategy that facilitates efficient identification of ES cell clones in which a DNA replacement cassette from a carrier plasmid has been exchanged correctly into the gkLCA allele. This selection strategy, by facilitating more efficient production of ES cell clones with various replacement DNA cassettes, should accelerate targeted repetitive introduction of gene modifications into the mouse.     

Versatile inducible activation system of Akt/PKB signaling pathway in mice

We report a transgenic mouse line in which Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) pathway can be activated in an inducible manner in defined cell types. In this transgenic mouse line, Cre expression allows the expression of a tamoxifen-activatable form of Akt/PKB in a defined cell type. Subsequent injection of tamoxifen triggers the transient activation of Akt/PKB in mice. Thus, this transgenic line allows the transient activation of Akt/PKB pathway in a predefined cell type. We expect that this transgenic system will provide a unique tool to study the roles of Akt/PKB pathway in mice.     

Generation of a floxed allele of the mouse BMP type II receptor gene

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) regulate a wide range of cellular functions that contribute to embryonic development from mesoderm formation to organogenesis. BMP type II receptor (BMPR-II) transduces BMP signals by forming heteromeric complexes with and phosphorylating BMP type I receptors. Heterozygous germline mutations of BMPR-II gene have been identified in patients with familial and sporadic primary pulmonary hypertension, indicating that BMPR-II may contribute to the maintenance of normal pulmonary vascular structure and function. Since embryos homozygous for a null BMPR-II allele died during gastrulation, precluding further studies of BMPR-II function in organ formation and in adult tissues, we generated mice carrying a conditional mutant BMPR-II allele in which exons 4 and 5 were flanked by loxP sequences. We anticipate that studies of mice carrying a floxed BMPR-II allele and a Cre transgene (under the control of a tissue-specific promoter) will enable characterization of the role of BMPR-II in specific cell types during development and in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases.     

Generation of a conditional null allele for Dmp1 in mouse

Dentin matrix protein1 (DMP1), highly conserved in humans and mice, is highly expressed in teeth, the skeleton, and to a lesser extent in nonskeletal tissues such as brain, kidney, and salivary gland. Pathologically, DMP1 is associated with several forms of cancers and with tumor-induced osteomalacia. Conventional disruption of the murine Dmp1 gene results in defects in dentin in teeth and in the skeleton, including hypophosphatemic rickets, and abnormalities in phosphate homeostasis. Human DMP1 mutations are responsible for the condition known as autosomal recessive hypophosphatemic rickets. For better understanding of the roles of DMP1 in different tissues at different stages of development and in pathological conditions, we generated Dmp1 floxed mice in which loxP sites flank exon 6 that encodes for over 80% of DMP1 protein. We demonstrate that Cre-mediated recombination using Sox2-Cre, a Cre line expressed in epiblast during early embryogenesis, results in early deletion of the gene and protein. These homozygous Cre-recombined null mice display an identical phenotype to conventional null mice. This animal model will be useful to reveal distinct roles of DMP1 in different tissues at different ages.     

Generation of a KOR‐Cre knockin mouse strain to study cells involved in kappa opioid signaling

The kappa opioid receptor (KOR) has numerous important roles in the nervous system including the modulation of mood, reward, pain, and itch. In addition, KOR is expressed in many non‐neuronal tissues. However, the specific cell types that express KOR are poorly characterized. Here, we report the development of a KOR‐Cre knockin allele, which provides genetic access to cells that express KOR. In this mouse, Cre recombinase (Cre) replaces the initial coding sequence of the Opkr1 gene (encoding the kappa opioid receptor). We demonstrate that the KOR‐Cre allele mediates recombination by embryonic day 14.5 (E14.5). Within the brain, KOR‐Cre shows expression in numerous areas including the cerebral cortex, nucleus accumbens and striatum. In addition, this allele is expressed in epithelium and throughout many regions of the body including the heart, lung, and liver. Finally, we reveal that KOR‐Cre mediates recombination of a subset of bipolar and amacrine cells in the retina. Thus, the KOR‐Cre mouse line is a valuable new tool for conditional gene manipulation to enable the study of KOR. genesis 54:29–37, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Conditional knockout mouse for tissue-specific disruption of the cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) gene

Cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) modulates many normal functions, and appears to play a role in a wide variety of pathophysiologic conditions. Cox-2 gene expression is induced in many different cell types, in response to many distinct stimuli. We generated a conditional knockout mouse in which critical exons of the Cox-2 gene are flanked with loxP sites. Cox-2(flox/flox) mice appear normal and are fertile. Recombination at the loxP sites, loss of Cox-2 protein expression, and prevention of induced PGE2 accumulation are observed in Cox-2(flox/flox) mouse embryo fibroblasts following infection with an adenovirus expressing CRE recombinase. In vivo recombination at the Cox-2(flox) allele was demonstrated in the liver of Cox-2(flox/flox) mice following intravenous injection of adenovirus expressing CRE recombinase. Spatially and temporally restricted elimination of the Cox-2 gene in Cox-2(flox/flox) conditional knockout mice should provide a valuable tool to analyze the cell type-specific role of Cox-2 in many disease models.     

Temporal Cre-mediated recombination exclusively in endothelial cells using Tie2 regulatory elements

Summary: The versatility of the bacteriophage Cre/LoxP system is dependent on the availability of a spectrum of tissue-specific Cre transgenic mice to address a host of biological questions. In this paper, we report on the generation of an inducible Tie2Cre transgenic mouse line that facilitates gene targeting exclusively in endothelial cells. The temporal manner of recombination is feasible through the use of a Cre-estrogen receptor fusion protein ER(T2) and was, in practical terms, achieved by feeding the animals the estrogen antagonist tamoxifen orally for 5 weeks. High efficiency of recombination was found in the vast majority of endothelial cell populations examined, as monitored by an EGFP reporter mouse line. Critically, no EGFP expression was observed in any uninduced mice. This inducible Cre line will be a very beneficial asset to investigating the role of endothelial specific genes in the adult mouse and to induce transgenes in the endothelium in an extremely efficient manner. genesis 33:191-197, 2002.     

A mouse model with tamoxifen‐inducible thyrocyte‐specific cre recombinase activity

We have created a mouse model expressing tamoxifen‐inducible Cre recombinase (CreER^T2) under the control of the thyroglobulin (Tg) gene promoter to be able to study the role of defined genetic modifications in the regulation of thyroid function. We chose the thyroglobulin promoter, as it is expressed specifically in the thyroid. In order to obtain reliable expression under the control of the Tg promoter, we used a P1 artificial chromosome (PAC) containing a large piece of the Tg promoter. A tamoxifen inducible CreER^T2 construct was selected to avoid the possible consequences of the gene deletion for the development of the thyroid gland, and to study the role of gene deletion in the adult thyroid. Transgenic lines (TgCreER^T2) carrying this construct were generated and analyzed by crossing the TgCreER^T2 mice with the ROSA26LacZ reporter strain. The activity and specificity of the Cre recombinase was tested by staining for β‐galactosidase activity and by immunohistochemistry using an anti‐Cre‐antibody. In the TgCreER^T2xROSA26LacZ reporter line, Cre‐mediated recombination occurred specifically in the thyrocytes only after tamoxifen administration, and no significant staining was observed in controls. The recombination efficiency was nearly complete, since almost all thyrocytes showed X‐gal staining. We could also induce the recombination in utero by giving tamoxifen to the pregnant female. In addition, mice expressing TgCreER^T2 had no obvious histological changes, hormonal alterations, or different response to growth stimuli as compared to controls. These results demonstrate that the TgCreER^T2 mouse line is a powerful tool to study temporally controlled deletion of floxed genes in the thyroid. genesis 52:333–340, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reproducible and inducible knockdown of gene expression in mice

RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as an efficient approach for rapid analysis of gene function. In mammalian cells, vector-based expression of small hairpin RNAs (shRNA) produces potent and stable gene knockdown effects. An inducible RNAi system with reproducible levels of siRNA expression will extend the usefulness of this methodology to the identification of gene functions within the developing or adult mouse. We present evidence that an RNA polymerase III-driven U6 promoter with stuffer sequences flanked by loxP sites inserted at three different sites within the promoter drives shRNA expression in a Cre recombinase-dependent manner. We utilized this approach to develop a generic strategy for the reproducible knockdown of gene expression in mice. By placing the inducible shRNA cassette into the ROSA26 locus of the mouse, we were able to generate reproducible levels of controlled expression of shRNA to produce discernable phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. This approach circumvents the prescreening of random integration in embryonic stem cell clones and further enables conditional gene knockdown with temporal and/or tissue specificity. This methodology should expedite large-scale functional studies.     

Cdk1 is required for the self-renewal of mouse embryonic stem cells

Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (Cdk1) is indispensible for the early development of the embryo. However, its role in maintaining the undifferentiated state of the embryonic stem (ES) cells remains unknown. In this study, we dissected the function of Cdk1 in mouse ES cells by RNA-interference and gene expression analyses. Cdk1 expression is tightly correlated with the undifferentiated state of the ES cells. Upon differentiation, Cdk1 expression reduced drastically. Cdk1 knock-down by RNA interference resulted in the loss of proliferation and colony formation potential of the ES cells. Consequentially, expression of self-renewal genes was reduced while differentiation markers such as Cdx2 were induced. Our results suggest a role for Cdk1 in maintaining the unique undifferentiated and self-renewing state of the mouse ES cells.     

Dissection of autophagosome formation using Apg5-deficient mouse embryonic stem cells

In macroautophagy, cytoplasmic components are delivered to lysosomes for degradation via autophagosomes that are formed by closure of cup-shaped isolation membranes. However, how the isolation membranes are formed is poorly understood. We recently found in yeast that a novel ubiquitin-like system, the Apg12-Apg5 conjugation system, is essential for autophagy. Here we show that mouse Apg12-Apg5 conjugate localizes to the isolation membranes in mouse embryonic stem cells. Using green fluorescent protein-tagged Apg5, we revealed that the cup-shaped isolation membrane is developed from a small crescent-shaped compartment. Apg5 localizes on the isolation membrane throughout its elongation process. To examine the role of Apg5, we generated Apg5-deficient embryonic stem cells, which showed defects in autophagosome formation. The covalent modification of Apg5 with Apg12 is not required for its membrane targeting, but is essential for involvement of Apg5 in elongation of the isolation membranes. We also show that Apg12-Apg5 is required for targeting of a mammalian Aut7/Apg8 homologue, LC3, to the isolation membranes. These results suggest that the Apg12-Apg5 conjugate plays essential roles in isolation membrane development.     

Generation of mice with a conditional allele of the p120 Ras GTPase-activating protein

p120 Ras GTPase-activating protein (RasGAP) encoded by the rasa1 gene in mice is a prototypical member of the RasGAP family of proteins involved in negative-regulation of the p21 Ras proto-oncogene. RasGAP has been implicated in signal transduction through a number of cell surface receptors. In humans, inactivating mutations in the coding region of the RASA1 gene cause capillary malformation arteriovenous malformation. In mice, generalized disruption of the rasa1 gene results in early embryonic lethality associated with defective vasculogenesis and increased apoptosis of neuronal cells. The early lethality in this mouse model precludes its use to further study the importance of RasGAP as a regulator of cell function. Therefore, to circumvent this problem, we have generated a conditional rasa1 knockout mouse. In this mouse, an exon that encodes a part of the RasGAP protein essential for catalytic activity has been flanked by loxP recognition sites. With the use of different constitutive and inducible Cre transgenic mouse lines, we show that deletion of this exon from the rasa1 locus results in effective loss of expression of catalytically-active RasGAP from a variety of adult tissues. The conditional rasa1 mouse will be useful for the analysis of the role of RasGAP in mature cell types.