title: RNAi-mediated knockdown of IKK1 in transgenic mice using a transgenic construct containing the human H1 promoter.
abstract: Inhibition of gene expression through siRNAs is a tool increasingly used for the study of gene function in model systems, including transgenic mice. To achieve perdurable effects, the stable expression of siRNAs by an integrated transgenic construct is necessary. For transgenic siRNA expression, promoters transcribed by either RNApol II or III (such as U6 or H1 promoters) can be used. Relatively large amounts of small RNAs synthesis are achieved when using RNApol III promoters, which can be advantageous in knockdown experiments. To study the feasibility of H1 promoter-driven RNAi-expressing constructs for protein knockdown in transgenic mice, we chose IKK1 as the target gene. Our results indicate that constructs containing the H1 promoter are sensitive to the presence of prokaryotic sequences and to transgene position effects, similar to RNApol II promoters-driven constructs. We observed variable expression levels of transgenic siRNA among different tissues and animals and a reduction of up to 80% in IKK1 expression. Furthermore, IKK1 knockdown led to hair follicle alterations. In summary, we show that constructs directed by the H1 promoter can be used for knockdown of genes of interest in different organs and for the generation of animal models complementary to knockout and overexpression models.
authors: Molecular Oncology Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors: Rodolfo
authors: R
authors: Moreno-Maldonado
authors: Department of Epithelial Biomedicine, CIEMAT, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors: Rodolfo
authors: R
authors: Murillas
authors: Molecular Oncology Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors: Manuel
authors: 0000-0003-1118-8531
authors: M
authors: Navarro
authors: Molecular Oncology Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors: Angustias
authors: A
authors: Page
authors: Molecular Oncology Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors: Cristian
authors: C
authors: Suarez-Cabrera
authors: Molecular Oncology Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors: Josefa P
authors: JP
authors: Alameda
authors: Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Laboratory of Pathology Phenotyping of Genetically Engineered Mice, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, Spain.
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Bravo
authors: Molecular Oncology Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors: M Llanos
authors: ML
authors: Casanova
authors: Molecular Oncology Unit, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors: Angel
authors: 0000-0001-7745-5108
authors: A
authors: Ramirez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D023061:Gene Order; D020868:Gene Silencing; D018390:Gene Targeting; D006801:Humans; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010641:Phenotype; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering
chemical_list: D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; C496564:Chuk protein, mouse; D051550:I-kappa B Kinase