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M S Ko

Publications and source records attributed to M S Ko.

45 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

An 'equalized cDNA library' by the reassociation of short double-stranded cDNAs.

The total number of genes in higher organisms is estimated to be under one hundred thousand. However, constructing a cDNA library containing a full set of genes expressed throughout the life time of an organism, without redundancy, is a major challenge for modern biology. Towards this goal, I have tried to make a library of mouse fibroblastoid Ltk- cells with nearly equal representations of cDNA clones. Double-stranded cDNAs (ds-cDNAs) are synthesized from mRNA using an oligo(dT)-Notl primer. After shearing to 200-400 bp, a synthetic linker-primer, which has one blunt and one sticky end and an internal EcoRl site, is ligated to the cDNAs. The cDNAs are amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the ligated linker-primer sequence. After denaturation and reassociation of the ds-cDNAs, and isolation of single-stranded cDNAs (ss-cDNAs) by hydroxylapatite chromatography, the ss-cDNAs are again amplified by PCR. The cDNAs are digested with EcoRl and Notl, and inserted into a plasmid vector. Colony hybridization with eight probes of different abundance showed a reduction in 'abundance variation' from at least 20,000-fold in the original library to 40-fold in the library constructed after three cycles of equalization. This indicates the usefulness of the current procedure for making equalized cDNA libraries.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The dose dependence of glucocorticoid-inducible gene expression results from changes in the number of transcriptionally active templates.

Glucocorticoid hormones induce the transcription of genes having glucocorticoid response elements in a dose dependent manner. To determine whether this dose dependence represents a response of individual templates or of the mass of templates, we introduced a bacterial beta-galactosidase gene linked to the glucocorticoid-inducible enhancer/promoter of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MTV) into Ltk- cells and obtained stable transformants containing a single or a few templates per cell. Visual inspection and flow cytometry analysis by enzyme histochemistry assay for beta-galactosidase revealed that individual cells showed very heterogeneous beta-galactosidase activity after 48 h induction with dexamethasone. When the glucocorticoid concentration was increased, an increasing cell population producing beta-galactosidase was observed. These phenomena were probably not due to heterogeneity of template copy number or to a predetermined cellular state among individual cells, since cells forming a single small colony gave similar results. This was also supported by data showing that recloned cells retained both their responsiveness to the glucocorticoid hormone and their digestion pattern in Southern blotting analyses. These results indicate that the dose dependent increase of glucocorticoid-inducible gene expression is caused by an increase in the number of transcriptionally active templates.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

An auto-inducible vector conferring high glucocorticoid inducibility upon stable transformant cells.

A new gene expression system in mammalian cells was developed by using the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) as an inducible positive feedback factor. Mouse Ltk- cells were transfected with plasmids carrying the GR-encoding gene and the lacZ reporter gene, both of which were fused with the glucocorticoid-inducible enhancer/promotor of the mouse mammary tumor virus (MTV). The GR gene was first induced to supply the receptor protein, which further induced the expression of both GR and reporter genes. Stable transformants induced with dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid hormone, demonstrated beta-galactosidase activity 60-140-fold higher than uninduced controls. Similarly, the human alpha-interferon-encoding gene fused with the MTV enhancer/promoter was induced more than 12,000-fold. This system allowed us to increase the expression of the reporter or target genes without augmenting basal levels of expression significantly, and may be useful to investigate the unknown function of a cloned gene, particularly when the gene product of interest is cytotoxic or growth-inhibiting.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

A highly inducible system of gene expression by positive feedback production of glucocorticoid receptors.

To investigate the function of a cloned gene, inducible enhancer/promoters are preferred for controlling the level of expression experimentally. Highly inducible gene expression systems with both low basal levels and enhanced maximal levels of expression are especially sought. We have developed a new expression system using a positive feedback mechanism. Glucocorticoid receptor cDNA was fused to the enhancer/promoter of mouse mammary tumor virus (MTV) to induce receptor production. Simultaneous introduction of this receptor plasmid into mouse Ltk- cells augmented the expression of the reporter gene linked with the MTV enhancer/promoter by 10- to 100-fold in an induced state, but did not significantly change the expression of that in an uninduced state. This novel system of gene expression is a good candidate for an efficient genetic switch.

Animals↗