A milk protein gene promoter directs the expression of human tissue plasminogen activator cDNA to the mammary gland in transgenic mice

Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.85.16.5874· OSTI ID:5517476

Pittius, C W; Hennighausen, L; Lee, E; Westphal, H; Nicols, E; Vitale, J; Gordon, K ^[1]

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1. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (USA)

Whey acidic protein (WAP) is a major whey protein in mouse milk. Its gene is expressed in the lactating mammary gland and is inducible by steroid and peptide hormones. A series of transgenic mice containing a hybrid gene in which human tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) cDNA is under the control of the murine WAP gene promoter had previously been generated. In this study, 21 tissues from lactating and virgin transgenic female mice containing the WAP-tPA hybrid gene were screened for the distribution of murine WAP and human tPA transcripts. Like the endogenous WAP RNA, WAP-tPA RNA was expressed predominantly in mammary gland tissue and appeared to be inducible by lactation. Whereas WAP transcripts were not detected in 22 tissues of virgin mice, low levels of WAP-tPA RNA, which were not modulated during lactation, were found in tongue, kidney, and sublingual gland. These studies demonstrate that the WAP gene promoter can target the expression of a transgene to the mammary gland and that this expression is inducible during lactation.

• OSTI ID: 5517476
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA), Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA) Vol. 85:16; ISSN 0027-8424; ISSN PNASA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550201* -- Biochemistry-- Tracer Techniques
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
ANIMALS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOCHEMISTRY
BODY
CHEMICAL ACTIVATION
CHEMISTRY
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DNA
DRUGS
ELECTROPHORESIS
ENZYMES
FIBRINOLYTIC AGENTS
FOOD
GENE REGULATION
GENE REPRESSORS
GLANDS
HEMATOLOGIC AGENTS
HYBRIDIZATION
HYDROLASES
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
ISOTOPES
LACTATION
LIGHT NUCLEI
MAMMALS
MAMMARY GLANDS
MAN
MICE
MILK PRODUCTS
NUCLEI
NUCLEIC ACIDS
NUCLEOPROTEINS
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PEPTIDE HYDROLASES
PHOSPHORUS 32
PHOSPHORUS ISOTOPES
PLASMINOGEN
PRIMATES
PROTEINS
RADIOISOTOPES
RECOMBINANT DNA
RODENTS
TRANSCRIPTION
VERTEBRATES
WASTES
WHEY