Onset of natural killer cell lymphomas in transgenic mice carrying a truncated HMGI-C gene by the chronic stimulation of the IL-2 and IL-15 pathway

Rearrangements of the high mobility group protein I-C (HMGI-C) gene, consisting in the loss of the carboxyl-terminal tail, have been frequently detected in benign human tumors of mesenchymal origin. We have previously demonstrated that transgenic (TG) mice carrying a truncated HMGI-C construct (HMGI-C/T) exhibit a giant phenotype together with a predominantly abdominal/pelvic lipomatosis. Here, we report that HMGI-C/T TG mice develop natural killer (NK)-T/NK cell lymphomas starting from 12 months of age. We found an increased expression of IL-2 and IL-15 proteins and their receptors in these lymphomas, and we demonstrate that HMGI-C/T protein positively regulates their expression in vitro. Therefore, the HMGI-C/T-mediated chronic stimulation of the IL-2/IL-15 pathway could be responsible for the onset of NK-T/NK cell lymphomas in HMGI-C/T TG mice.

Hydroperoxide lyase depletion in transgenic potato plants leads to an increase in aphid performance

Hydroperoxide lyases (HPLs) catalyze the cleavage of fatty acid hydroperoxides to aldehydes and oxoacids. These volatile aldehydes play a major role in forming the aroma of many plant fruits and flowers. In addition, they have antimicrobial activity in vitro and thus are thought to be involved in the plant defense response against pest and pathogen attack. An HPL activity present in potato leaves has been characterized and shown to cleave specifically 13-hydroperoxides of both linoleic and linolenic acids to yield hexanal and 3-hexenal, respectively, and 12-oxo-dodecenoic acid. A cDNA encoding this HPL has been isolated and used to monitor gene expression in healthy and mechanically damaged potato plants. HPL gene expression is subject to developmental control, being high in young leaves and attenuated in older ones, and it is induced weakly by wounding. HPL enzymatic activity, nevertheless, remains constant in leaves of different ages and also after wounding, suggesting that posttranscriptional mechanisms may regulate its activity levels. Antisense-mediated HPL depletion in transgenic potato plants has identified this enzyme as a major route of 13-fatty acid hydroperoxide degradation in the leaves. Although these transgenic plants have highly reduced levels of both hexanal and 3-hexenal, they show no phenotypic differences compared with wild-type ones, particularly in regard to the expression of wound-induced genes. However, aphids feeding on the HPL-depleted plants display approximately a two-fold increase in fecundity above those feeding on nontransformed plants, consistent with the hypothesis that HPL-derived products have a negative impact on aphid performance. Thus, HPL-catalyzed production of C6 aldehydes may be a key step of a built-in resistance mechanism of plants against some sucking insect pests.

Demonstration of the extrinsic coagulation pathway in teleostei: Identification of zebrafish coagulation factor VII

It is not known whether the mammalian mechanism of coagulation initiation is conserved in fish. Identification of factor VII is critical in providing evidence for such a mechanism. A cDNA was cloned from a zebrafish (teleost) library that predicted a protein with sequence similarity to human factor VII. Factor VII was shown to be present in zebrafish blood and liver by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Immunodepletion of factor VII from zebrafish plasma selectively inhibited thromboplastin-triggered thrombin generation. Heterologous expression of zebrafish factor VII demonstrated a secreted protein (50 kDa) that reconstituted thromboplastin-triggered thrombin generation in immunodepleted zebrafish plasma. These results suggest conservation of the extrinsic coagulation pathway between zebrafish and humans and add credence to the zebrafish as a model for mammalian hemostasis. The structure of zebrafish factor VIIa predicted by homology modeling was consistent with the overall three-dimensional structure of human factor VIIa. However, amino acid disparities were found in the epidermal growth factor-2/serine protease regions that are present in the human tissue factor–factor VIIa contact surface, suggesting a structural basis for the species specificity of this interaction. In addition, zebrafish factor VII demonstrates that the Gla-EGF-EGF-SP domain structure, which is common to coagulation factors VII, IX, X, and protein C, was present before the radiation of the teleosts from the tetrapods. Identification of zebrafish factor VII significantly narrows the evolutionary window for development of the vertebrate coagulation cascade and provides insight into the structural basis for species specificity in the tissue factor–factor VIIa interaction.

DNA-mediated immunization in a transgenic mouse model of the hepatitis B surface antigen chronic carrier state.

Transgenic mice expressing the sequences coding for the envelope proteins of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) in the liver have been used as a model of the HBV chronic carrier state. We evaluated the possibility of inducing a specific immune response to the viral envelope antigens and thus potentially controlling chronic HBV infection. Using HBV-specific DNA-mediated immunization in this transgenic model, we show that the immune response induced after a single intramuscular injection of DNA resulted in the complete clearance of circulating hepatitis B surface antigen and in the long-term control of transgene expression in hepatocytes. This response does not involve a detectable cytopathic effect in the liver. Adoptive transfer of fractionated primed spleen cells from DNA-immunized mice shows that T cells are responsible for the down-regulation of HBV mRNA in the liver of transgenic mice. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a potential immunotherapeutic application of DNA-mediated immunization against an infectious disease and raises the possibility of designing more effective ways of treating HBV chronic carriers.

Viral RNA trafficking is inhibited in replicase-mediated resistant transgenic tobacco plants.

Transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Turkish Samsun NN) plants expressing a truncated replicase gene sequence from RNA-2 of strain Fny of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) are resistant to systemic CMV disease. This is due to suppression of virus replication and cell-to-cell movement in the inoculated leaves of these plants. In this study, microinjection protocols were used to directly examine cell-to-cell trafficking of CMV viral RNA in these resistant plants. CMV RNA fluorescently labeled with the nucleotide-specific TOTO-1 iodide dye, when coinjected with unlabeled CMV 3a movement protein (MP), moved rapidly into the surrounding mesophyll cells in mature tobacco leaves of vector control and untransformed plants. Such trafficking required the presence of functional CMV 3a MP. In contrast, coinjection of CMV 3a MP and CMV TOTO-RNA failed to move in transgenic resistant plants expressing the CMV truncated replicase gene. Furthermore, coinjection of 9.4-kDa fluorescein-conjugated dextran (F-dextran) along with unlabeled CMV 3a MP resulted in cell-to-cell movement of the F-dextran in control plants, but not in the transgenic plants. Similar results were obtained with viral RNA when the 30-kDa MP of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was coinjected with TMV TOTO-RNA into replicase-resistant transgenic tobacco expressing the 54-kDa gene sequence of TMV. However, in these transgenic plants, the TMV-MP was still capable of mediating cell-to-cell movement of itself and the 9.4-kDa F-dextran. These results indicate that an inhibition of cell-to-cell viral RNA trafficking is correlated with replicase-mediated resistance. This raises the possibility that the RNA-2 product is potentially involved in the regulation of cell-to-cell movement of viral infectious material during CMV replication.

Overexpression of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase in transgenic rabbits prevents diet-induced atherosclerosis.

Lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is a key plasma enzyme in cholesterol and high density lipoprotein (HDL) metabolism. Transgenic rabbits overexpressing human LCAT had 15-fold greater plasma LCAT activity that nontransgenic control rabbits. This degree of overexpression was associated with a 6.7-fold increase in the plasma HDL cholesterol concentration in LCAT transgenic rabbits. On a 0.3% cholesterol diet, the HDL cholesterol concentrations increased from 24 +/- 1 to 39 +/- 3 mg/dl in nontransgenic control rabbits (n = 10; P < 0.05) and increased from 161 +/- 5 to 200 +/- 21 mg/dl (P < 0.001) in the LCAT transgenic rabbits (n = 9). Although the baseline non-HDL concentrations of control (4 +/- 3 mg/dl) and transgenic rabbits (18 +/- 4 mg/dl) were similar, the cholesterol-rich diet raised the non-HDL cholesterol concentrations, reflecting the atherogenic very low density, intermediate density, and low density lipoprotein particles observed by gel filtration chromatography. The non-HDL cholesterol rose to 509 +/- 57 mg/dl in controls compared with only 196 +/- 14 mg/dl in the LCAT transgenic rabbits (P < 0.005). The differences in the plasma lipoprotein response to a cholesterol-rich diet observed in the transgenic rabbits paralleled the susceptibility to developing aortic atherosclerosis. Compared with nontransgenic controls, LCAT transgenic rabbits were protected from diet-induced atherosclerosis with significant reductions determined by both quantitative planimetry (-86%; P < 0.003) and quantitative immunohistochemistry (-93%; P < 0.009). Our results establish the importance of LCAT in the metabolism of both HDL and apolipoprotein B-containing lipoprotein particles with cholesterol feeding and the response to diet-induced atherosclerosis. In addition, these findings identify LCAT as a new target for therapy to prevent atherosclerosis.

A cytoplasmic male sterility-associated mitochondrial protein causes pollen disruption in transgenic tobacco.

In higher plants, dominant mitochondrial mutations are associated with pollen sterility. This phenomenon is known as cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). It is thought that the disruption in pollen development is a consequence of mitochondrial dysfunction. To provide definitive evidence that expression of an abnormal mitochondrial gene can interrupt pollen development, a CMS-associated mitochondrial DNA sequence from common bean, orf239, was introduced into the tobacco nuclear genome. Several transformants containing the orf239 gene constructs, with or without a mitochondrial targeting sequence, exhibited a semi sterile or male-sterile phenotype. Expression of the gene fusions in transformed anthers was confirmed using RNA gel blotting, ELISA, and light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Immunocytological analysis showed that the ORF239 protein could associate with the cell wall of aberrant developing microspores. This pattern of extracellular localization was earlier observed in the CMS common bean line containing orf239 in the mitochondrial genome. Results presented here demonstrate that ORF239 causes pollen disruption in transgenic tobacco plants and may do so without targeting of the protein to the mitochondrion.

Increased glycogen accumulation in transgenic mice overexpressing glycogen synthase in skeletal muscle.

To investigate the role of glycogen synthase in controlling glycogen accumulation, we generated three lines of transgenic mice in which the enzyme was overexpressed in skeletal muscle by using promoter-enhancer elements derived from the mouse muscle creatine kinase gene. In all three lines, expression was highest in muscles composed primarily of fast-twitch fibers, such as the gastrocnemius and anterior tibialis. In these muscles, glycogen synthase activity was increased by as much as 10-fold, with concomitant increases (up to 5-fold) in the glycogen content. The uridine diphosphoglucose concentrations were markedly decreased, consistent with the increase in glycogen synthase activity. Levels of glycogen phosphorylase in these muscles increased (up to 3-fold), whereas the amount of the insulin-sensitive glucose transporter 4 either remained unchanged or decreased. The observation that increasing glycogen synthase enhances glycogen accumulation supports the conclusion that the activation of glycogen synthase, as well as glucose transport, contributes to the accumulation of glycogen in response to insulin in skeletal muscle.

Active transposition in zebrafish.

We have identified a new family of Tc1-like transposons in the zebrafish, Danio rerio. The sequence of a candidate active transposon, deduced from sample Tzf elements, shows limited resemblance to the previously described Tdr1 elements of zebrafish. Both the Tzf and the Tdr elements are extremely abundant in zebrafish. We describe here a general strategy for detecting transposition events in a complex genome and demonstrate its utility by selectively monitoring hundreds of potentially active Tzf copies in the zebrafish genome against a background of other related elements. We have followed members of a zebrafish pedigree, using this two-dimensional transposon display strategy, to identify the first examples of active transposition of such elements in vertebrates.

Doxycycline-mediated quantitative and tissue-specific control of gene expression in transgenic mice.

The tet regulatory system in which doxycycline (dox) acts as an inducer of specifically engineered RNA polymerase II promoters was transferred into transgenic mice. Tight control and a broad range of regulation spanning up to five orders of magnitude were monitored dependent on the dox concentration in the water supply of the animals. Administration of dox rapidly induces the synthesis of the indicator enzyme luciferase whose activity rises over several orders of magnitude within the first 4 h in some organs. Induction is complete after 24 h in most organs analyzed. A comparable regulatory potential was revealed with the tet regulatory system where dox prevents transcription activation. Directing the synthesis of the tetracycline-controlled transactivator (tTA) to the liver led to highly specific regulation in hepatocytes where, in presence of dox, less than one molecule of luciferase was detected per cell. By contrast, a more than 10(5)-fold activation of the luciferase gene was observed in the absence of the antibiotic. This regulation was homogeneous throughout but stringently restricted to hepatocytes. These results demonstrate that both tetracycline-controlled transcriptional activation systems provide genetic switches that permit the quantitative control of gene activities in transgenic mice in a tissue-specific manner and, thus, suggest possibilities for the generation of a novel type of conditional mutants.

Transgenic male-sterile plant induced by an unedited atp9 gene is restored to fertility by inhibiting its expression with antisense RNA.

We have previously shown that the expression of an unedited atp9 chimeric gene correlated with male-sterile phenotype in transgenic tobacco plant. To study the relationship between the expression of chimeric gene and the male-sterile trait, hemizygous and homozygous transgenic tobacco lines expressing the antisense atp9 RNA were constructed. The antisense producing plants were crossed with a homozygous male-sterile line, and the F1 progeny was analyzed. The offspring from crosses between homozygous lines produced only male-fertile plants, suggesting that the expression antisense atp9 RNA abolishes the effect of the unedited chimeric gene. In fact, the plants restored to male fertility showed a dramatic reduction of the unedited atp9 transcript levels, resulting in normal flower development and seed production. These results support our previous observation that the expression of unedited atp9 gene can induce male sterility.

Myocardial signaling defects and impaired cardiac function of a human beta 2-adrenergic receptor polymorphism expressed in transgenic mice.

A threonine to isoleucine polymorphism at amino acid 164 in the fourth transmembrane spanning domain of the beta 2-adrenergic receptor (beta 2AR) is known to occur in the human population. The functional consequences of this polymorphism to catecholamine signaling in relevant cells or to end-organ responsiveness, however, are not known. To explore potential differences between the two receptors, site-directed mutagenesis was carried out to mimic the polymorphism. Transgenic FVB/N mice were then created overexpressing wild-type (wt) beta 2AR or the mutant Ile-164 receptor in a targeted manner in the heart using a murine alpha myosin heavy chain promoter. The functional properties of the two receptors were then assessed at the level of in vitro cardiac myocyte signaling and in vivo cardiac responses in intact animals. The expression levels of these receptors in the two lines chosen for study were approximately 1200 fmol/mg protein in cardiac membranes, which represents a approximately 45-fold increase in expression over endogenous beta AR. Myocyte membrane adenylyl cyclase activity in the basal state was significantly lower in the Ile-164 mice (19.5 +/- 2.7 pmol/min/mg) compared with wt beta 2AR mice (35.0 +/- 4.1 pmol/min/mg), as was the maximal isoproterenol-stimulated activity (49.8 +/- 7.8 versus 77.1 +/ 7.3 pmol/min/mg). In intact animals, resting heart rate (441 +/- 21 versus 534 +/- 17 bpm) and dP/dtmax (10,923 +/- 730 versus 15,308 +/- 471 mmHg/sec) were less in the Ile-164 mice as compared with wt beta 2AR mice. Similarly, the physiologic responses to infused isoproterenol were notably less in the mutant expressing mice. Indeed, these values, as well as other contractile parameters, were indistinguishable between Ile-164 mice and nontransgenic littermates. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the Ile-164 polymorphism is substantially dysfunctional in a relevant target tissue, as indicated by depressed receptor coupling to adenylyl cyclase in myocardial membranes and impaired receptor mediated cardiac function in vivo. Under normal homeostatic conditions or in circumstances where sympathetic responses are compromised due to diseased states, such as heart failure, this impairment may have important pathophysiologic consequences.

Inhibition of neoplastic development in the liver by hepatocyte growth factor in a transgenic mouse model.

Overexpression of the c-myc oncogene is associated with a variety of both human and experimental tumors, and cooperation of other oncogenes and growth factors with the myc family are critical in the evolution of the malignant phenotype. The interaction of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) with c-myc during hepatocarcinogenesis in a transgenic mouse model has been analyzed. While sustained overexpression of c-myc in the liver leads to cancer, coexpression of HGF and c-myc in the liver delayed the appearance of preneoplastic lesions and prevented malignant conversion. Furthermore, tumor promotion by phenobarbital was completely inhibited in the c-myc/HGF double transgenic mice, whereas phenobarbital was an effective tumor promoter in the c-myc single transgenic mice. The results indicate that HGF may function as a tumor suppressor during early stages of liver carcinogenesis, and suggest the possibility of therapeutic application for this cytokine.

Receptor-specific in vivo desensitization by the G protein-coupled receptor kinase-5 in transgenic mice.

Transgenic mice were generated with cardiac-specific overexpression of the G protein-coupled receptor kinase-5 (GRK5), a serine/threonine kinase most abundantly expressed in the heart compared with other tissues. Animals overexpressing GRK5 showed marked beta-adrenergic receptor desensitization in both the anesthetized and conscious state compared with nontransgenic control mice, while the contractile response to angiotensin II receptor stimulation was unchanged. In contrast, the angiotensin II-induced rise in contractility was significantly attenuated in transgenic mice overexpressing the beta-adrenergic receptor kinase-1, another member of the GRK family. These data suggest that myocardial overexpression of GRK5 results in selective uncoupling of G protein-coupled receptors and demonstrate that receptor specificity of the GRKs may be important in determining the physiological phenotype.