326 GENERATION OF A DOUBLE-TRANSGENIC PIG WITH PANCREAS-SPECIFIC GREEN AND LIVER-SPECIFIC RED FLUORESCENCE
H. Matsunari A B , K. Nakano C , T. Kanai C , R. Sakai C , M. Watanabe B C , K. Umeyama B C , T. Kobayashi A D , T. Yamaguchi A D , A. Shiota E , M. Nagaya B , H. Nakauchi A D and H. Nagashima A BA JST, ERATO, Nakauchi Stem Cell and Organ Regeneration Project, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan;
B Meiji University International Institute for Bio-Resource Research, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan;
C Laboratory of Developmental Engineering, Department of Life Sciences, School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan;
D Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan;
E Phoenix Bio Co., Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 25(1) 311-311 https://doi.org/10.1071/RDv25n1Ab326
Published: 4 December 2012
Abstract
Transgenic (Tg) pigs with organ/tissue-specific fluorescence expression provide invaluable research tools for many types of studies, such as organogenesis analysis, in vitro tissue generation from pluripotent cells, and progenitor/stem cell transplantation therapy. We aimed to develop a Tg pig characterised by pancreas- and liver-specific fluorescence expression. A 8.4 kb transgene construct expressing Venus (green fluorescence) under the control of the mouse Pdx1 (pancreatic duodenal homeobox-1) promoter and a BAC-derived construct (170 kb) consisting of the whole-length porcine albumin (Alb) promoter and humanized Kusabira-Orange (huKO, red fluorescence) was introduced into porcine in vitro-matured oocytes using the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)-mediated gene transfer method. Injected embryos were transferred to the oviducts of oestrus-synchronized recipients after culture for 1 to 3 days. The transfer of 370 Pdx1-Venus embryos into 4 recipients produce 22 (5.9%) fetuses/piglets, and 9 (40.9%) Tg pigs exhibited pancreas-specific Venus expression. Two (1 male and 1 female) founder Pdx1-Venus-Tg pigs were mated with wild-type (WT) pigs and produced 32 offspring in 3 litters, of which 16 (50.0%) were transgenic. Pancreas-specific Venus expression was inherited in these Tg offspring. The transfer of 523 Alb-huKO embryos into 4 recipients resulted in 19 (3.6%) piglets including a Tg female, which showed liver-specific huKO fluorescent expression. Expression of huKO was detected by RT-PCR exclusively in liver, but not in 7 other organs/tissues examined, including heart, lung, stomach, small intestine, spleen, kidney and skin. This founder Tg female produced a total of 12 non-Tg and 5 Tg offspring (in 2 litters) after mating with a WT boar. Liver-specific huKO expression was inherited in these Tg offspring. Furthermore, the mating of a female Pdx1-Venus pig with an Alb-huKO boar yielded 7 non-Tg and 10 Tg pigs. Four of these Tg pigs carrying both of the transgenes exhibited both pancreas-specific Venus and liver-specific huKO expression in single individuals. Double-Tg pigs with pancreas-specific green fluorescence and liver-specific red fluorescence grew normally, and tests of their reproduction ability are currently underway. These data demonstrate that transgene introduction by ICSI-mediated gene transfer into in vitro-matured oocytes is a feasible option for generating pigs expressing fluorescent proteins in a tissue-specific manner.
