Novel developmental specificity in the nervous system of transgenic animals expressing growth hormone fusion genes

The development of methods for introducing foreign genes into the germ line of mice provides an approach for studying mechanisms underlying inducible and developmental gene regulation. Transgenic animals expressing foreign genes have thus been used to test models of the role played by specific DNA sequences in determining cell-specific expression. Results from these experiments suggest that tissue-specific expression is the consequence of a cis-acting regulatory sequence. However, these results do not exclude the possibility that cell-specific expression of some genes might be 'coded' by combinations of regulatory elements. We have previously described the production of transgenic mice from eggs microinjected with metallothionein-I/growth hormone (MGH) fusion genes, and now demonstrate that the juxtaposition of sequences from two different genes can be deciphered by cells to generate novel tissue specificities. Although expression of the endogenous metallothionein and growth hormone genes has not been detected in neuronal cells, transgenic mice clearly express an MGH fusion gene in a restricted subset of neurones. These results suggest a model in which tissue-specific patterns of expression of certain genes are determined by combinations of cis-acting regulatory sequences.     

Expression of human growth hormone-releasing factor in transgenic mice results in increased somatic growth

The neurohumoral regulation of growth hormone secretion is mediated in part by two hypothalamic peptides that reach the anterior pituitary via the hypothalamo-hypophysial portal blood system. Somatostatin inhibits the release of growth hormone, whereas growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF) positively regulates both growth hormone synthesis and secretion. Two forms of human GRF, 40 and 44 amino acids long, have been characterized from extra-hypothalamic tumours as well as from the hypothalamus. Analysis of human GRF complementary DNA and genomic clones indicates that the GRF peptides are first synthesized as a 107- or 108-amino-acid precursor protein. To examine the physiological consequences of GRF expression, we have established strains of transgenic mice containing a fusion gene including the promoter/regulatory region of the mouse metallothionein-I (MT-I) gene and the coding region of the human GRF gene. We report that expression of the human GRF precursor protein in these animals results in measurable levels of human GRF and increased levels of mouse growth hormone in plasma and accelerated growth rates relative to control littermates. These results demonstrate a direct role for GRF in the positive regulation of somatic growth. Unexpectedly, female transgenic mice carrying the MT-GRF fusion gene are fertile, in contrast to female transgenic mice expressing human or rat growth hormone, which are generally infertile. These transgenic mouse strains should provide useful animal models for the study of several types of human growth disorders.     

Peripheral neuropathies, hepatocellular carcinomas and islet cell adenomas in transgenic mice

The ability to introduce foreign DNA into the genome of mice offers unique opportunities to produce new models of disease process. Recent experiments have shown that integration and expression of simian virus 40 (SV40) T antigen genes and the murine mammary tumour virus (MMTV)-myc genes in transgenic mice can lead to the development of neoplasia in a remarkably tissue-specific manner. In the case of SV40-bearing mice, tumours consistently develop in the choroid plexus. In the accompanying paper, we show that the 72-base pair (bp) enhancer in the SV40 genome is instrumental in directing tumorigenesis to the choroid plexus. However, when the enhancer is deleted from a construction also containing the metallothionein-human growth hormone fusion gene (SV delta e-MGH), an entirely new pattern of pathology results. The present report focuses on transgenic mice carrying this construct; they develop demyelinating peripheral neuropathies, hepatocellular carcinomas and islet cell adenomas.     

pGH基因在F_1代转基因金鱼中的整合及表达的分析

本实验对转基因金鱼进行分子生物学鉴定,所用实验材料转基因金鱼是采用显微注射的方法,将羊金属硫蛋白基因启动子与猪生长激素基因(pGH)重组而成的线形DNA片段导入金鱼的受精卵中,在合适的条件下培养获得的。为了鉴定外源基因在金鱼体内整合、表达和遗传的情况,我们选择了相同生长期的F_1代转基因金鱼6条和普通金鱼2条,进行总DNA的提取和纯化,用特异引物对pGH基因进行PCR扩增,结果表明:外源基因(pGH)在部分受体金鱼中得到了整合,并通过有性繁殖稳定地遗传给下一代。同时将阳性金鱼与阴性金鱼进行身长和体重等形态上的比较,初步断定:pGH基因在部分受体鱼中得到了表达,且有显著的促生长作用。     

小鼠转基因及传代研究

综述了湖北省农科院生物技术研究所近年来有关转基因小鼠的主要研究进展。应用原核注射技术 ,将POMT PGH、hDAF、pBHSA、pSHSA、PT HBV 1 3、Bcl xL、hCD5 9、hCD5 9+hMCP等 8种外源基因 ,注入并移植 4 874枚小鼠的受精卵 ,得到 5 5 6只小鼠 ;经PCR和Southern杂交检测 ,确认原代转基因小鼠 10 8只。基因整合率平均 19.4 % ,转基因效率平均 2 .2 %。应用混合注射的方法得到了转双基因小鼠 ,双基因共整合率 2 2 .2 %。表达外源蛋白的转基因小鼠在 5 0 %～ 10 0 %之间。研究了小鼠的超数排卵和影响转基因效率的几个因素。通过转Bcl xL小鼠与非转基因小鼠连续五个世代的传代交配和检测 ,研究了转基因小鼠外源基因的遗传规律 ,表明四只原代小鼠中 ,只有一只能稳定地将外源基因传递给后代。并非所有的转基因小鼠都具有遗传的稳定性 ,欲建立小鼠的转基因品系 ,尚需对原代转基因小鼠进行筛选。     

外源hDAF基因对转基因猪影响的初步研究

应用显微注射方法将外源hDNA基因导入湖北白猪的受精卵,获得了相应的转基因猪,4．2,8．0kb两种导入外源基因片断移植后死胎率分别为20．00％,39．71％,差异不显著,8．0kb基因产仔畸形率为11．76％,而4．3kb基因无畸形,结果表明,原核基因对转基因猪有明显的致畸作用,G0代转基因猪60日龄重,6月龄重对照组差异均不显著,表明外源基因的整合位点较理想。     

Specific expression of an elastase-human growth hormone fusion gene in pancreatic acinar cells of transgenic mice

Transfection of genes into tissue culture cell lines has demonstrated that relatively short DNA sequences can allow expression of immunoglobulin, insulin and chymotrypsin genes in their appropriate cell types. A definitive test of cell-specific gene expression, however, requires testing genes in every possible cell type, an experiment performed easily by introducing the gene in question into the germ line of an animal. Transfer of intact genes into mice has demonstrated that a mouse immunoglobulin kappa gene is expressed specifically in B lymphocytes, a rat elastase I gene is expressed specifically in pancreas and a chicken transferrin gene is expressed preferentially in liver. Mouse metallothionein-growth hormone fusion genes introduced into mice are preferentially expressed in the liver, consistent with the expression of endogenous metallothionein genes, but initial experiments with beta-globin genes have not revealed proper regulation. To identify the DNA elements required for pancreas-specific expression of the rat elastase I gene, we joined the 5'-flanking region of this gene to the human growth hormone (hGH) structural gene and introduced the fusion gene into mice. Here we demonstrate that a fusion gene containing only 213 base pairs (bp) of elastase I gene sequence directs expression of hGH in pancreatic acinar cells.     

Regulation of human insulin gene expression in transgenic mice

Insulin is a polypeptide hormone of major physiological importance in the regulation of fuel homeostasis in animals (reviewed in refs 1,2). It is synthesized by the beta-cells of pancreatic islets, and circulating insulin levels are regulated by several small molecules, notably glucose, amino acids, fatty acids and certain pharmacological agents. Insulin consists of two polypeptide chains (A and B, linked by disulphide bonds) that are derived from the proteolytic cleavage of proinsulin, generating equimolar amounts of the mature insulin and a connecting peptide (C-peptide). Humans, like most vertebrates, contain one proinsulin gene, although several species, including mice and rats, have two highly homologous insulin genes. We have studied the regulation of serum insulin levels and of insulin gene expression by generating a series of transgenic mice containing the human insulin gene. We report here that the human insulin gene is expressed in a tissue-specific manner in the islets of these transgenic mice, and that serum human insulin levels are properly regulated by glucose, amino acids and tolbutamide, an oral hypoglycaemic agent.     

SV40 enhancer and large-T antigen are instrumental in development of choroid plexus tumours in transgenic mice

We have shown recently that choroid plexus tumours frequently develop in transgenic mice which have developed from fertilized eggs injected with DNA molecules containing both simian virus 40 (SV40) early-region genes and metallothionein (MT) fusion genes, and several lines of mice have now been established in which all of the offspring that inherit the foreign DNA succumb to these tumours at 3-5 months of age (ref. 1 and our unpublished data). Several other tissues, notably thymus and kidney, occasionally also show pathological changes. SV40 large-T antigen protein and messenger RNA are always present in affected tissues at much greater concentrations than in unaffected tissues, suggesting that SV40 early-region genes are preferentially activated in choroid plexus, thymus and kidney and that this activation frequently leads to tumorigenesis in the choroid plexus. To determine which regions of the original constructs are important for this tumorigenesis, we have now tested several derivatives and report here that the large-T antigen is sufficient, that the MT fusion gene is dispensable and that the SV40 enhancer (72-base-pair repeat region) has an important role in directing tumours to the choroid plexus. Deletion of the SV40 enhancer region alone commonly leads to peripheral neuropathy, as well as liver and pancreatic tumours, which are the subject of the accompanying paper. Evidence is presented that these pathologies may result from an enhancing effect of the MT sequences on large-T antigen genes, made possible by removal of the otherwise dominant SV40 enhancer.     

Specific expression of a foreign beta-globin gene in erythroid cells of transgenic mice

The globin gene family represents an attractive system for the study of gene regulation during mammalian development, as its expression is subject to both tissue-specific and temporal regulation. While many aspects of globin gene structure and expression have been described extensively, relatively little is known about the cis-acting DNA sequences involved in the developmental regulation of globin gene expression. To begin to experimentally define these regulatory sequences, we have taken the approach of introducing cloned globin genes into the mouse germ line and examining their expression in the resulting transgenic animals. Here we describe a series of transgenic mice carrying a hybrid mouse/human adult beta-globin gene, several of which express the gene exclusively or predominantly in erythroid tissues. These studies demonstrate that regulatory sequences closely linked to the beta-globin gene are sufficient to specify a correct pattern of tissue-specific expression in a developing mouse, when the gene is integrated at a subset of foreign chromosomal positions.     

MT—hGH基因注入小鼠受精卵的研究

用显微注射法，将MT－hGH融合基因注入昆明白小鼠受精卵雄原核中，受注的原核卵经体外培养发育的198枚2细胞胚、45枚桑椹胚和161枚胚泡，移植到54只假孕受体，其中16只妊娠产仔只，存活到供试的仔鼠25只，小鼠长到3个月后，切尾制备DNA，经DNA斑点杂交和Southern印迹杂交检测基因整合情况，25只小鼠中3只有融合基因整合，称为转基因小鼠，仔鼠21日龄离乳后饮水中加入锌（Za^ )，以诱导融合基因表达，85日龄时，转基因小鼠体重比对照组重32．0％，还讨论了基因整合方式对胚胎发育的影响。     

Transgenic mice with inducible dwarfism

The pituitary gland, composed of the anterior, intermediate and posterior lobe, represents a principal regulatory interface through which the central nervous system controls body physiology. The ontogeny of the growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (Prl) producing cells of the anterior pituitary has been analysed in transgenic mice, using the thymidine kinase obliteration system (TKO). Cells expressing the herpes virus 1 thymidine kinase (HSV1-TK) gene acquire pharmacological sensitivity to synthetic nucleosides such as FIAU (1-(2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-delta-arabinofuranosyl)-5-iodouracil), whose metabolites kill dividing cells. Consequently we created transgenic mice carrying the HSV1-TK gene under the control of either the rat growth hormone or the rat prolactin promoter. If transgenic mice expressing HSV1-TK in somatotropes (GH-producing cells) are treated with FIAU, they develop as dwarfs. The anterior pituitary in these animals is nearly devoid of both somatotropes and lactotropes (Prl-producing cells). By contrast, transgenic mice expressing HSV1-TK in the lactotropes, treated with FIAU, have anatomically and histologically normal pituitaries. Because toxicity depends on cell division, we conclude that Prl expression and lactotrope differentiation are post-mitotic events. These results indicate that both somatotropes and lactotropes derive from a common GH-expressing stem-somatotrope. Unexpectedly, the stemsomatotrope is still present in the adult animal and is capable of repopulating the pituitaries of treated animals with mature GH and Prl producing cells.     

Multiple transgenes Populus xeuramericana ''''Guariento'''' plants obtained by biolistic bombardment

A JERF36 regulation gene, a selection marker gene (NPT-II), and the foreign genes levansucrase (SacB), Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (vgb), and Binary coleopterus insect resistance (BtCry3A OC-I) were co-transferred into Populus xeuramericana 'Guariento' using biolistic bombardment; 25 kanamycin resistant plants were obtained. The results of PCR and Southern hybridization showed that the foreign genes had been integrated into the genome of P. xeuramericana 'Guariento' and 5 genes were all transferred into 7 poplar plants. The results of a BtCry3A ELISA experiment indicated that the BtCry3A gene was expressed in the 7 transgenic poplar plants, and these plants grew well on coastal saline land.     

Study on pig growth hormone gene polymorphisms in western meat-type breeds and Chinese local breeds

Chinese Meishan and Jiangquhai pigs are two of the most prolific pigs in the world, but their growth rate is lower than that of Duroc, Landrace and Pietrain pigs. It is suggested that growth rate is regulated by growth hormone. The objective of the current study was to analyze the porcine growth hormone (pGH) gene polymorphisms based on the polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment-length polymorphism method (PCR-RFLP) for three western meat-type breeds (Duroc, Landrace and Pietrain) and two local Chinese pigs (Meishan and Jiangquhai). Five polymorphic restriction sites were detected with the ApaI, MspI, BspI and HhaI restriction enzymes in two amplified fragments (605 bp, -119 to +486; 506 bp, +206 to +711). Breed difference was found only in the 506 bp fragment. There was no difference in allelic frequencies of BspI and HhaI restriction sites among the five breeds (P>0.05). Landrace and Meishan pigs lacked allele G3 of MspI site. The allele G3 frequency of restriction MspI site of the 506 bp fragment in Pietrain pigs was higher than that in Duroc and Jianquhai pigs (P<0.001). For ApaI site, the Meishan pigs lacked allele G1; no difference was found in allelic frequencies among Pietrain, Duroc, Landrace and Jiangquhai pigs (P>0.05). This new and rapid PCR-RFLP typing method is an attractive tool for analysis of porcine growth hormone gene restriction sites. The differences in MspI and ApaI restriction sites may explain the growth difference between the foreign meat-type breeds above mentioned and local Chinese pigs.     

害虫对转基因植物抗性进化的计算机模拟

采用人工生命的方法，定量模拟了不同条件下害虫对转基因植物抗性性的进化速度。结果显示只转入植物一个毒性基因常使害虫在短时间内产生抗性，若转３－４个不会产生交互抗性的毒性基因则可大大推迟到或阻止抗性的产生。     

Expression of two insect-resistant genes crylA ( b&c )/GNA in transgenic tobacco plants results in added protection against both cotton bollworm and aphids

The synthesized Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal protein gene crylA(b&c) and the synthesized gene GNA, (the mannose specific lectin from snowdrop ( Galanthus nivalis)), tumefaciens have been inserted into plant expression vector pGW4BAI. Leave stripes of Nico-tiana tabacum var. K326 have been transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring the plant expression vector. 28 kanamycin resistant tobacco plants have been obtained. PCR and Southern blot analyses show that the foreign crylA and GNA genes have been inserted into the genome of transformed tobacco plants. Haemagglutination assays show that GNA has a functional activity. Leaf disc bioassays against cotton bollworm ( H. armigera) show that the transgenic tobacco plants have a high insecticidal activity. The inhibition of aphid population in leaf disc bioassays against Myzus persicae shows that the fecundity of aphid on transgenic plants is lower than that on untransformed plants; the aphid population on the transgenic tobacco plants is 25%-70% that on untransformed tobacco plants. ELISA analysis of CrylA protein in tobcco leaves provides similar data to bioassay results. Through the two bioassays against H. armigera and M. persicae, several transgenic tobacco plants showing high insect-resistant activities to both pests have been obtained.     

Generation of transgenic cucumbers with expression of a ten-tandem repeat long-acting GLP-1 analogue and their biological function on diabetic rats

Glucagon-like peptide-1 （GLP-1） is a 30-amino acid peptide hormone, which has the regulatory function of stimulating the secretion of insulin to balance blood glucose levels. In this study, marker-free expression vector pX6 with a fusion gene of ten tandem repeated GLP-1 analog （[Ser8, Gln26 and Asp34]-GLP-1） genes was constructed and transformed into cucumbers by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation method. Four transgenic lines were obtained by PCR and Southern blotting analysis and two transgenic lines successfully expressed the fusion protein （named GLP-T）, which was revealed by Western blotting analysis. The biological activity test results showed that the serum glucose level of diabetic rats was significantly decreased after oral administration of the fusion protein GLP-T extracted from the transgenic cucumber fruitage. These results suggest that this may provide a brand-new strategy to prevent and cure the diabetes with no pain.