title: GAL4-NF-kappaB fusion protein augments transgene expression from neuronal promoters in the rat brain.
abstract: Targeted gene expression mediated by a mammalian cellular promoter is desirable for gene therapy in the brain, where there are a variety of different neuronal phenotypes, several types of supportive cells, and blood vessels. However, this approach can be hampered by weak activity of some cellular promoters. In view of the potency of the transcription factor NF-kappaB in regulating neuronal gene expression, we have assessed whether it can be used to enhance the strength of neuron-specific promoters. Our approach was to use a neuronal promoter to drive expression of a chimeric transactivator, which consisted of a part of the transcriptional activation domain of the NF-kappaB p65 protein fused to the DNA-binding domain of GAL4 protein from yeast. The second copy of the neuronal promoter was modified by introducing the unique GAL4 binding sequences at its 5' end and used to drive the expression of a transgene. Binding of the chimeric transcriptional activator upstream of the second promoter was expected to potentiate its transcriptional activity. In this study, the approach was applied to the platelet-derived growth factor beta chain and synapsin-1 neuron-specific promoters and tested in vitro and in vivo using plasmid, lentiviral, and baculoviral vectors. We observed up to a 100-fold improvement in reporter gene expression in cultured neurons and 20-fold improvement in the rat brain in vivo. Moreover, the cell-type specificity of the two tested promoters was well preserved and restricted to neurons. Finally, the expression driven by the new lentiviral vectors with the p65-potentiated synapsin-1 promoter showed no signs of decline or cell damage 4 weeks after injection. This approach should be suitable for constructing powerful and stable gene expression systems based on weak cell-specific promoters in neuronal phenotypes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, 31 Biopolis Way, 138669, Singapore.
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: J F R
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Paton
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boulaire
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kasparov
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D016466:CHO Cells; D019556:COS Cells; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D006224:Cricetinae; D003412:Cricetulus; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D016716:PC12 Cells; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051996:Transcription Factor RelA / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D014162:Transfection / Q000379:methods; D019076:Transgenes / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C052130:GAL4 protein, S cerevisiae; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D051996:Transcription Factor RelA; D014157:Transcription Factors; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008156:Luciferases