title: Stable skin-specific overexpression of human CTLA4-Ig in transgenic mice through seven generations.
abstract: Skin graft rejection is a typical cellular immune response, mainly mediated by T cells. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen 4-immunoglobin (CTLA4-Ig) extends graft survival by blocking the T cell co-stimulation pathway and inhibiting T cell activation. To investigate the efficacy of CTLA4-Ig in prolonging skin graft survival, human CTLA4-Ig (hCTLA4-Ig) was engineered to overexpress in mouse skin by transgenesis using the K14 promoter. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot assay indicated that the expression of CTLA4-Ig remained skin-specific and relatively constant compared to the internal control protein, AKT, through seven generations. The presence and concentration of the hCTLA4-Ig protein in transgenic mouse sera was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the results indicated that the serum CTLA4-Ig concentration also remained constant through generations. Survival of transgenic mouse skins grafted onto rat wounds was remarkably prolonged compared to that of wild-type skins from the same mouse strain, and remained comparable among all seven generations. This suggested that the bioactive hCTLA4-Ig protein was stably expressed in transgenical mice through at least seven generations, which was consistent with the stable skin-specific CTLA4-Ig expression. The results demonstrated that the transgenic expression of hCTLA4-Ig in skin driven by the K14 promoter remained constant through generations, and a transgenic line can be established to provide transgenic skin with extended survival reproducibly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, College of Basic Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Feng-Chao
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Liang-Peng
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000069594:Abatacept; D000818:Animals; D000943:Antigens, Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D018796:Immunoconjugates / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000943:Antigens, Differentiation; D018796:Immunoconjugates; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D000069594:Abatacept