Visualization of lymphatic vessels by Prox1-promoter directed GFP reporter in a bacterial artificial chromosome-based transgenic mouse.
Although the blood vessel-specific fluorescent transgenic mouse has been an excellent tool to study vasculogenesis and angiogenesis, a lymphatic-specific fluorescent mouse model has not been established to date. Here we report a transgenic animal model that expresses the green fluorescent protein under the promoter of Prox1, a master control gene in lymphatic development. Generated using an approximately 200-kb-long bacterial artificial chromosome harboring the entire Prox1 gene, this Prox1-green fluorescent protein mouse was found to faithfully recapitulate the expression pattern of the Prox1 gene in lymphatic endothelial cells and other Prox1-expressing organs, and enabled us to conveniently visualize detailed structure and morphology of lymphatic vessels and networks throughout development. Our data demonstrate that this novel transgenic mouse can be extremely useful for detection, imaging, and isolation of lymphatic vessels and monitoring wound-associated lymphangiogenesis. Together, this Prox1-green fluorescent protein transgenic mouse will be a great tool for the lymphatic research.
Department of Surgery, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Inho
I
Choi
Hee Kyoung
HK
Chung
Swapnika
S
Ramu
Ha Neul
HN
Lee
Kyu Eui
KE
Kim
Sunju
S
Lee
Jaehyuk
J
Yoo
Dongwon
D
Choi
Yong Suk
YS
Lee
Berenice
B
Aguilar
Young-Kwon
YK
Hong
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D022202:Chromosomes, Artificial, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D042583:Lymphangiogenesis; D042601:Lymphatic Vessels / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000098551:Prospero-Related Homeobox 1 Protein
D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D000098551:Prospero-Related Homeobox 1 Protein; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins