• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.11-15
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• 2004

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst-stage embryos that can be propagated indefinitely and, at the same time, can be differentiated into all the cell types that constitute the body. Current research using ES cells is mainly focused on the efficient generation of specific cell types by employing optimal differentiation conditions, which often requires the genetic manipulation of ES cells. As a way of developing an efficient system to regulate foreign gene expression in ES cells, we have inserted the gene encoding Corynebacterium diphtheria toxin-A (DTA) into an autonomously induced plasmid under positive doxycycline control ('Tet-on' system). In this study, we demonstrate that this system can lead to the cell death of mouse ES cells by the induction of DTA expression when exposed to the tetracycline derivative, doxycycline. MTT assay showed that this induction resulted in the apoptosis of ES cells.

• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.217-222
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• 2009

Controlled gene expression in specific cells is a valuable tool for gene therapy. We attempted to determine whether the lentivirus-mediated Tet-On inducible system could be applied to cancer gene therapy. In order to select the genes that induce cancer cell death, we compared the ability of the known pro-apoptotreic genes, Bax and tBid, and a cell cycle inhibitor, p21cip1/waf1, and determined that Bax was the most effective. For the cancer cell-specific expression of $rtTA2^S$-M2, we tested the matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) promoter and determined that it is highly expressed in cancer cell lines, including SNU475 cells. The co-transduction of two lentiviruses that contain sequences for TRE-Bax and $rtTA2^S$-M2, the expression of which is controlled by the MMP-2 promoter, resulted in the specific cell death of SNU475, whereas other cells with low MMP-2 expression did not evidence significant cell death. Our data indicate that the lentivirus-mediated Tet-On system using the cancer-specific promoter is applicable for cancer gene therapy.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.49-55
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• 2005

We cloned cDNA of the PGH(porcine growth hormone) gene and constructed retrovirus vector designed to express PGH gene under the regulation of CMV (cytomegalovirus) promoter. To maximize the expression, WPRE(woodchuck hepatitis virus posttranscriptional regulatory element) sequence was placed at the downstream of the PGH gene. After infection with recombinant viruses, approximately 1×10/sup 6/ PFF(porcine fetal fibroblast) cells released PGH protein into the media as much as 1,400 ng. In a subsequent experiment, a modifications of the retrovirus vector was made to express the PGH gene in a teracycline-inducible manner. In PFF cells carrying these viral vector sequences, addition of doxycycline to the media resulted in 2∼6 fold increase in PGH synthesis. In the modified retrovirus vectors, the WPRE sequence also played a role in boosting the effect of the tetracycline induction. This result indicates that our tetracycline-inducible expression system might be a promising candidate in alleviating the complicate physiological problems caused by constitutive expression of the exogenous genes in the transgenic animals.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.177-186
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• 2009

It is well-known that unregulated over-expression of foreign gene may have unwanted physiological or toxic effects in transgenic animals. To circumvent these problems, we constructed retrovirus vector designed to express the foreign gene under the control of the tetracycline-inducible promoter. However, gene expressions in the tetracycline-inducible expression system (Tet system) are not completely regulated but a little leaky due to the inherent defects in conventional Tet-based systems. A more tightly controllable regulatory system can be achieved when the advanced versions ($rtTA2^SM2$) of rtTA and a minimal promoter in responsive components (pTRE-tight) are used in combination therein. In this study, we tried to produce human thrombopoietin (hTPO) from various target cells and transgenic chickens using the retrovirus vector combined with Tet system. hTPO is the primary regulator of platelet production and has an important role in the survival and expansion of hematopoietic stem cells. In a preliminary experiment in vitro, higher hTPO expression and tighter expression control were observed in chicken embryonic fibroblast (CEF) cells. We also measured the biological activity of the hTPO using Mo7e cells whose proliferation is dependant on hTPO. The biological activity of the recombinant hTPO from CEF was higher than both its commercial counterpart and hTPO from other target cells. The recombinant retrovirus was injected beneath the blastoderm of non-incubated chicken embryos (stage X). Out of 138 injected eggs, 15 chicks hatched after 21 days of incubation. Among them, 8 hatched chicks were hTPO positive. When the Go transgenic chicken was fed doxycycline (0.5 mg per 1 gram of feed), a tetracycline derivative, hTPO concentration of the transgenic chicken blood was 200 ng/mL. Germline transmission of the transgene was confirmed in sperm of the Go transgenic roosters. These results are informative to establish transgenic chickens as bioreactors for the mass production of commercially valuable and biological active human cytokine proteins.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.259-268
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• 2003

Lactadherin (formerly known as BA46), a major glycoprotein of the human milk fat globule membrane, is abundant in human breast milk and breast carcinoma cells and is known to prevent symptomatic rotavirus infections. In this study, we tried to transfer the human lactadherin gene to the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells using retrovirus vector system and tested inducible expression of the gene under the tetracycline-controllable promoter. At first, tetracycline-mediated inducibility was tested using E.coli LacZ marker gene. NIH3T3 cells co-infected with RevTet-On and RevTRE-LacZ retrovirus vectors showed that the cells responded to doxycycline (a derivative of tetracycline) in a dose-dependent manner, and prominent induction of the lacZ gene expression was observed from 1 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of doxycycline concentration. Based on the results of the pilot experiment, inductional expression of the human lactadherin gene was conducted using RevTet-On and RevTRE-Ltd retrovirus vectors. Analysis with the RT-PCR demonstrated successful inductional expression of the lactadherin gene in the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells. Considering that constitutive overexpression of the exogenous genes in the target cells causes serious physiological imbalance, the results obtained in this study will be very useful especially in the studies of gene therapy and transgenic animal production.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.109-115
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• 2013

Until recently the most popular tetracycline-inducible gene expression system has been the one developed by Gossen and Bujard. In this study, we tested the latest version of same system and the results are summarized as follows: Compared with previous one, the difference of new system are minor changes of nucleotide sequences in transactivator and tetracycline response element (TRE) regions. Sensitivity to the doxycycline (a tetracycline derivative) was improved. Leakiness of GFP marker gene expression in non-inducible condition was significantly decreased. Higher expression of the marker gene was observed when the cells were fed with doxycycline-containing medium. Optimal insertion site of woodchuck posttranscriptional regulatory element (WPRE) sequence which was known to increase gene expression was different depending on the origin of cells. In chicken embryonic fibroblast, location of WPRE sequence at 3' end of TRE resulted in the highest GFP expression. In bovine embryonic fibroblasts, 3' end of transactivator was the best site for the GFP expression.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.161-167
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• 2007

In this study, we constructed and tested retrovirus vectors designed to express the human thrombopoietin gene under the control of the tetracycline-inducible promoters. To increase the hTPO gene expression at him-on state, WPRE sequence was also introduced into retrovirus vector at downstream region of either the hTPO gene or the sequence encoding reverse tetracycline-controlled transactivator (rtTA). Primary culture cells (PFF, porcine fetal fibroblast; CEF, chicken embryonic fibroblast) infected with the recombinant retrovirus were cultured in the medium supplemented with or without doxycycline for 48hr, and induction efficiency was measured by comparing the hTPO gene expression level using RT-PCR, western blot and ELISA. Higher hPTO expression and tighter expression control were observed from the vector in which the WPRE sequence was placed at downstream of the hTPO (in CEF) or rtTA(in PFF) gene. This resulting tetracycline inducible vector system may be helpful in solving serious physiological disturbance problems which have been a major obstacle in successful production of transgenic animals.

• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.298-305
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• 2011

Most intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially superoxide anion ($O_2^{{\bullet}_-}$) that is converted from oxygen, are overproduced by excessive electron leakage from the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Intracellular oxidative stress that damages cellular components can contribute to lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and arteriosclerosis, and age-related diseases such as cancer and neuronal degenerative diseases. We have previously demonstrated that the excessive mitochondrial $O_2^{{\bullet}_-}$ production caused by SDHC mutations (G71E in C. elegans, I71E in Drosophila and V69E in mouse) results in premature death in C. elegans and Drosophila, cancer in mouse embryonic fibroblast cells and infertility in transgenic mice. SDHC is a subunit of mitochondrial complex II. In humans, it has been reported that mutations in SDHB, SDHC or SDHD often result in inherited head and neck paragangliomas (PGLs). Recently, we established Tet-mev-1 conditional transgenic mice using our uniquely developed Tet-On/Off system, which equilibrates transgene expression to endogenous levels. These mice experienced mitochondrial respiratory chain dysfunction that resulted in $O_2^{{\bullet}_-}$ overproduction. The mitochondrial oxidative stress caused excessive apoptosis leading to low birth weight and growth retardation in the neonatal developmental phase in Tet-mev-1 mice. Here, we briefly describe the relationships between mitochondrial $O_2^{{\bullet}_-}$ and aging phenomena in mev-1 animal models

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2005

One of the critical problems to be solved in transgenic animal production is uncontrollable constitutive expression of foreign genes, which usually results in serious physiological disturbances in the transgenic animal. To circumvent this problem, we constructed and tested two retrovirus vectors designed to express the GFP(green fluorescent protein) gene under the control of the tetracycline-inducible promoters. To maximize the GFP gene expression at turn-on state, WPRE(woodchuck hepatitis virus posttranscriptional regulatory element) sequence was introduced into the retrovirus vectors at downstream region of either the GFP gene or the sequence encoding rtTA(reverse tetracycline-controlled transactivator). Transformed cells were cultured in the medium supplemented with or without doxycycline(tetracycline derivative) for 48 hours, and induction efficiency was measured by comparing the GFP gene expression level using fluorometry and western blotting. Higher GFP expression was observed from the vector carrying the WPRE sequence at 3' side of the GFP gene, while tighter expression control(up to 20 fold) was obtained from the vector in which the WPRE sequence was placed at 3' side of rtTA sequence. The resulting tetracycline inducible vector system may be used in transgenic animal production and gene therapy.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.157-162
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• 2006

Endogenous 84 amino acid parathyroid hormone(PTH) is synthesized as a pre-pro hormone by the chief cells of the parathyroid glands. Physiological actions of PTH include regulation of bone metabolism, renal tubular reabsorption of calcium and phosphate, and intestinal calcium absorption. In addition, PTH stimulates new bone formation by extraordinary stimulation of osteoblastic activity and decreasing calcium excretion by the kidney. In this study, we constructed and tested retrovirus vectors designed to express the human parathyroid hormone(hPTH) gene under the control of the tetracycline-inducible promoters. To increase the hPTH gene expression at turn-on state, woodchuck hepatitis virus posttranscriptional regulatory element(WPRE) sequence was also introduced into retrovirus vector at downstream region of either the hPTH gene or the sequence encoding reverse tetracycline-controlled transactivator(rtTA). Transformed primary culture cells(porcine fetal fibroblast, PFF, chicken embryonic fibroblast, CEF) were cultured in the medium supplemented with or without doxycycline(tetracycline derivative) for 48 hours, and induction efficiency was measured by comparing the hPTH gene expression level using two step RT-PCR and ELISA Higher hPTH expression($3{\tims}10^4\;pg/ml,\;5.3{\times}10^4\;pg/ml$) and tighter expression control(up to 8 fold) were observed from the vector in which the WPRE sequence was placed at downstream of the hPTH gene. The resulting tetracycline inducible vector system may be helpful in solving serious physiological disturbance problems which have been a major obstacle in successful production of transgenic animals.