title: Mouse lymphomyeloid cells can function with significantly decreased expression levels of cytochrome C.
abstract: Cytochrome c is an indispensable electron carrier in the mitochondrial respiratory chain and also an important mediator of the internal pathway triggering apoptosis. Mice with a complete deficiency of the Cycs gene encoding the somatic cytochrome c die during the embryogenesis. Using the technology of LoxP-cre-dependent tissue-specific recombination, we obtained some mouse strains with significantly reduced expression of cytochrome c in certain cell types ("conditional genetic knockdown"). This knockdown was achieved by abrogation of the normal splicing of the Cycs locus pre-mRNA due to an additional acceptor site inside the stop-cassette neo(r). Previously, we observed embryonic lethality in homozygous mice with the same knockdown of cytochrome c in all cells of the organism. In the present work we studied two novel mouse strains with conditional knockdown of the Cycs gene in T lymphocytes and macrophages. Somewhat surprisingly, the mice of these two strains under normal conditions were not phenotypically different from the wild-type mice, either on the whole organism level or on the level of activity of individual target cells. Thus, the amount of cytochrome c in lymphomyeloid cells does not affect their development and normal functioning.
authors.affiliation: Lomonosov Moscow State University, Biological Faculty, Moscow, 119991, Russia. shilov_evgeny@inbox.ru.
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Shilov
authors.forename: I V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Kislyakov
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Gorshkova
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Zvartsev
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Drutskaya
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Mufazalov
authors.forename: V P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Skulachev
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Nedospasov
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D045304:Cytochromes c / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics*; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D045304:Cytochromes c