title: Porcine synapsin 1: SYN1 gene analysis and functional characterization of the promoter.
abstract: Synapsin 1 (SYN1) is a phosphoprotein involved in nerve signal transmission. The porcine SYN1 promoter orthologue was cloned and characterized to provide a means of expressing a transgene specifically in neurons. The nucleotide sequence of the promoter displayed a high degree of conservation of elements responsible for neuron-specific expression. Expression analysis of SYN1 demonstrated presence of transcript during embryonic development. Analysis of GFP expression in transgenic zebrafish embryos suggests that the pig SYN1 promoter directs expression in neuronal cells. Thus, the SYN1 promoter is a good candidate for use in the generation of pig models of human neurodegenerative disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Blichers Alle 20, Tjele DK-8830, Denmark.
authors.forename: Claus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hedegaard
authors.forename: Kasper
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kjaer-Sorensen
authors.forename: Lone Bruhn
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Madsen
authors.forename: Carina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Henriksen
authors.forename: Jamal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Momeni
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bendixen
authors.forename: Claus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oxvig
authors.forename: Knud
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Larsen
keywords: Ab, antibody; BSG, basal ganglia; BST, brain stem; CBE, cerebellum; CMV, cytomegalovirus; Chr, chromosome; FB, forebrain; FCO, frontal cortex; GFP; GFP, green fluorescent protein; HB, hindbrain; HIP, hippocampus; LLG, lateral line ganglion; MB, midbrain; NRSE, neuron restrictive silencer element; Neuron-specific promoter; OC, optic chiasm; ON, olfactory neuron; Pig; R, retina; REST, RE1-silencing transcription factor; TG, trigeminal ganglion; TSS, transcription start site; Transgenic; WPRE, Woodchuck hepatitits virus Post-transcriptional Regulatory Element; Zebrafish