title: In vivo visualization of the lymphatic vessels in pFLT4-EGFP transgenic medaka.
abstract: Feline McDonough Sarcoma (FMS)-like tyrosine kinase 4 (FLT4) is a marker for lymphatic vessels and some high endothelial venules in human adult tissues. We generated a transgenic medaka fish in which the lymphatic vessels and some blood vessels are visible in vivo by transferring the promoter of medaka flt4 driving the expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) using a see-through medaka line. To do this, we identified and cloned medaka flt4 and generated a construct in which the promoter was the 4-kb region upstream of the translation initiation site. The fluorescent signal of EGFP could be observed with little background, and the expression pattern correlated well with that of flt4 determined by whole-mount RNA in situ hybridization. Because a see-through medaka line is transparent until adult, the model is useful for visualizing the lymphatic vessels not only in embryo and fry but also in adult. This model will be a useful tool for analyzing lymphatic development.
authors.affiliation: Health Research Institute (HRI), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan. tomonori-deguchi@aist.go.jp
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Deguchi
authors.forename: Kazuhiro E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Fujimori
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: Kouichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Shunsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yuba
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D042583:Lymphangiogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D042601:Lymphatic Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009990:Oryzias / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D040321:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3 / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C485184:enhanced green fluorescent protein; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D040321:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3