Transcriptional activity assessment of three different promoters for mouse in utero electroporation system

Plasmid. 2014 Jul:74:52-8. doi: 10.1016/j.plasmid.2014.06.003. Epub 2014 Jun 28.

Abstract

In utero electroporation (IUE) is a simple and rapid approach to in vivo investigate exogenous gene function in mouse brain, and intensive studies using IUE have greatly contributed to analyze the characterization of specific steps during mouse brain development. Because the efficiency of IUE is highly dependent on the plasmid used and its concentration, and the transcriptional activity of plasmid is not only regulated by the host defense system, but also by the promoter of the expression vectors. Therefore, in the present study, we evaluated the transcriptional activity of three commonly used promoters, CMV, CAG and SV40, in IUE system through measuring the fluorescence intensity of green fluorescent protein which serves as an indicator. Our results demonstrated that the artificially-designed CAG promoter is a potent promoter that effectively drives target gene expression in IUE system.

Keywords: Brain development; Green fluorescent protein; In utero electroporation; Promoter.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Electroporation / methods*
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Optical Imaging
  • Plasmids / genetics*
  • Pregnancy
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic*
  • Transcriptional Activation / genetics*
  • Transfection

Substances

  • Green Fluorescent Proteins