Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Jaenisch

Publications and source records attributed to R Jaenisch.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

Collagen protein abnormalities produced by site-directed mutagenesis of the pro alpha 1(I) gene.

Site-directed mutagenesis of collagen genes offers a powerful new approach for studying structure-function relationships. The construction of engineered mutant collagen genes coding for glycine substitutions and their expression giving rise to the osteogenesis imperfecta type II phenotype in cells and transgenic mice has recently been achieved. This paper further defines the molecular abnormalities of collagen and bone pathology resulting from the expression of the mutant genes.

Animals↗

Structure of a full-length cDNA clone for the prepro alpha 1(I) chain of human type I procollagen.

A full-length cDNA clone for the human prepro alpha 1(I) chain of type I procollagen was characterized. Nucleotide sequencing of the first 1500 nucleotide residues of the 5'-end of the cDNA clone provided 729 nucleotide residues and the codons for 243 amino acid residues not previously defined from any species. The data made it possible, for the first time, to compare completely codon usage for the human alpha 1(I) and alpha 2(I) chains.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Non-H-2 histocompatibility antigens encoded by Moloney-murine leukemia virus in Mov mouse strains are detectable by skin grafting and cytolytic T lymphocytes.

The integration and expression of Moloney-murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) into the germ line of Mov mouse strains on the C57BL/6 background results in the expression of a cell-surface Ag with characteristics expected from non-H-2 histocompatibility Ag: the ability to stimulate graft rejection and generation of CTL. However, both the previously studied Mov-3 and Mov-14 strains differ from the coisogenic C57BL/6 strain by different length segments of chromosome derived from the ICR strain in addition to the integrated M-MuLV genome. To conclusively demonstrate that an Ag encoded by M-MuLV is solely responsible for rejection of Mov skin grafts by coisogenic recipients, we have studied additional Mov strains that differ from coisogenic 129 or BALB/c backgrounds only by integration of an M-MuLV genome. A total of 129 strain recipients reject skin grafts from two viremic Mov strains, Mov-17 and Mov-18. A total of 129 strain hosts primed with either 1) multiple sets of Mov-17 and Mov-18 skin grafts or 2) single injections of Mov-17 and Mov-18 spleen cells produce M-MuLV-specific CTL that could be boosted in primary mixed lymphocyte culture. Generated CTL were reactive with Con A-stimulated lymphoblasts from all tested viremic Mov strains on the B6 and 129 backgrounds as well as B6 lymphomas. Further, we have observed that 129 strain mice reject Mov-9 skin grafts if these skin grafts are transplanted to virgin 129 recipients which have not received prior skin grafts from non-viremic Mov donors. In addition, skin grafts were transplanted from two viremic Mov strains, Mov-15 and Mov-16, to coisogenic BALB/c recipients; rejection of both sets of grafts was observed. However, BALB/c responders did not generate specific CTL after priming in vivo, with either multiple sets of allogeneic grafts or spleen cell injections, and boosting in vitro. These observations confirm the ability of integrated and expressed M-MuLV genomes to encode what is operationally defined as a non-H-2 histocompatibility Ag.

Animals↗

Transgenic animals.

The ability to introduce foreign genes into the germ line and the successful expression of the inserted gene in the organism have allowed the genetic manipulation of animals on an unprecedented scale. The information gained from the use of the transgenic technology is relevant to almost any aspect of modern biology including developmental gene regulation, the action of oncogenes, the immune system, and mammalian development. Because specific mutations can be introduced into transgenic mice, it becomes feasible to generate precise animal models for human genetic diseases and to begin a systematic genetic dissection of the mammalian genome.

Animals↗

Perinatal lethal osteogenesis imperfecta in transgenic mice bearing an engineered mutant pro-alpha 1(I) collagen gene.

Substitutions of single glycine residues of alpha 1(I) collagen have previously been associated with the inherited disease osteogenesis imperfecta type II. Transgenic mice bearing a mutant alpha 1(I) collagen gene into which specific glycine substitutions have been engineered show a dominant lethal phenotype characteristic of the human disease, and demonstrate that as little as 10% mutant gene expression can disrupt normal collagen function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Maternal transmission of retroviral disease: transgenic mice as a rapid test system for evaluating perinatal and transplacental antiretroviral therapy.

Transgenic mouse strains carrying Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV) in the germ line were found to serve as rapid and quantitative models of in utero and perinatal retroviral infection for evaluating strategies of antiretroviral therapy. In these strains virus activation leads to virus expression, viral spread associated with the development of viremia, and subsequent T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. To test these transgenic strains for their usefulness in evaluating antiretroviral agents, the effect of the drug 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) on the development of viremia and subsequent disease was examined. The assessment of mice for viremia at 1 month of age appeared to be the most useful assay because it was rapid and quantitative. AZT was most effective in preventing viremia in transgenic strains that activate Mo-MuLV after birth and had more variable effects in strains that activate prior to birth. However, in six of seven of the strains examined, AZT led to a marked improvement in survival and reduced the onset of T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. These results provide evidence for effective antiretroviral therapy during gestation and in the perinatal period and are of potential significance for the management of the maternal transmission of human retroviruses.

Animals↗

Retroviruses and mouse embryos: a rapid model for neurovirulence and transplacental antiviral therapy.

A murine model in which neurotropic retroviral infection can be studied over short periods of time was developed. Microinjection of Cas-Br-E virus into midgestation mouse embryos caused paralysis and death within 25 days after birth, in contrast to virus-infected neonates which develop disease only after 4 months. To evaluate whether antiviral drugs could cross the placental barrier and influence the course of the disease, the drug 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) was administered to infected embryos through the drinking water of pregnant females. AZT treatment markedly retarded the onset and course of virus-induced central nervous system disease, permitting animals to survive beyond 4 months of age. These results are evidence for effective antiviral treatment during gestation and in the perinatal period and are of potential significance for the management of maternal transmission of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) virus.

Animals↗

Collagen synthesis by cell lines derived from Mov-13 mouse embryos which have a lethal mutation in the collagen alpha 1(I) gene.

Mouse embryos homozygous for the Mov-13 mutation produce no collagen I, owing to transcriptional blockage of the collagen alpha 1(I) gene by a retroviral insert. Fibroblast-like cell lines derived from these embryos were compared with similar lines derived from heterozygous and wild-type embryos with respect to the total amounts, and types, of collagen synthesized. Total collagen synthesized by either cloned or uncloned cell lines correlated with their genotype, demonstrating no compensation for absence of collagen I production by an increase in synthesis of other collagen types. Procollagen alpha 2(I) chains were not detected in the homozygous cell lines, demonstrating that these chains do not form homotrimers, nor do they form heterotrimers with alpha-chains of other collagen types. Procollagen III levels were quantified by radioimmunoassay and found to be similar in all cell lines.

Animals↗

Endogenous retroviruses lead to the expression of a histocompatibility antigen detectable by skin graft rejection.

Mov mouse strains differ from their respective, coisogenic partner strains by the embryonic, germ-line introduction of Moloney murine leukemia virus genomes. The possibility that retroviral insertions into the mouse genome resulted in gain or loss mutations at non-H-2 histocompatibility loci was investigated by reciprocal skin grafting between Mov mice and mice from coisogenic, background strains. Two B6-derived and eight 129-derived Mov strains were analyzed. B6 mice rejected skin from the viremic Mov-3 and Mov-14 strains, indicating that these mice had new histocompatibility antigens. No rejections were observed with reciprocal skin grafts exchanged between mice of the 129 background strain and 129-derived Mov strains, one of which (Mov-9) is viremic. To investigate the potential viral origin of the new histocompatibility antigen in Mov-14, lymphocytes from B6 mice primed in vivo with Mov-14 cells or skin were restimulated in vitro with Mov-14 spleen cells and with two retroviral-induced B6 lymphomas, MBL-2 and RBL-5. All three cell types stimulated cytotoxic lymphocytes that lysed Mov-14 Con A lymphoblasts, MBL-2 and RBL-5. The same cytotoxic lymphocytes lysed only lymphoblasts from the viremic Mov-9 strain when tested on cells from 129 and 129 Mov mice. Thus the insertion and expression of exogenous Moloney murine leukemia virus results in the appearance of a new histocompatibility antigen as defined by its stimulation of skin-graft rejection and cytotoxic effector T-cell generation. The non-H-2 histocompatibility antigen identified in this study has been designated H-43 and is encoded by genes mapping to different loci in different Mov strains. These observations suggest that at least a subgroup of non-H-2 histocompatibility antigens is encoded by endogenous retroviruses; the implications of these results for understanding the origin and the identity of non-H-2 histocompatibility antigens are discussed.

Animals↗

High rate of recombination and double crossovers in the mouse pseudoautosomal region during male meiosis.

The recombination rate in meiosis between the mouse X and Y chromosomes was analyzed. Mice heterozygous at two pseudoautosomal alleles, the steroid sulfatase gene and the Mov-15 provirus marker, were crossed. The provirus in the Mov-15 transgenic mouse strain had been previously shown to be carried in the pseudoautosomal region of the sex chromosomes. Recombination frequencies were shown to be 7-fold higher in this region in male meiosis than in female meiosis. Three-point crosses indicated the occurrence in male meiosis of double recombination events in the pseudoautosomal region, with little or no crossover interference, which is in marked contrast to observations made on the similar region of the human sex chromosomes. This result is contrary to a previous model, which predicted a single crossover event in male meiotic pairing of mammalian sex chromosomes.

Animals↗

Introduction of the human pro alpha 1(I) collagen gene into pro alpha 1(I)-deficient Mov-13 mouse cells leads to formation of functional mouse-human hybrid type I collagen.

The Mov-13 mouse strain carries a retroviral insertion in the pro alpha 1(I) collagen gene that prevents transcription of the gene. Cell lines derived from homozygous embryos do not express type I collagen although normal amounts of pro alpha 2 mRNA are synthesized. We have introduced genomic clones of either the human or mouse pro alpha 1(I) collagen gene into homozygous cell lines to assess whether the human or mouse pro alpha 1(I) chains can associate with the endogenous mouse pro alpha 2(I) chain to form stable type I collagen. The human gene under control of the simian virus 40 promoter was efficiently transcribed in the transfected cells. Protein analyses revealed that stable heterotrimers consisting of two human alpha 1 chains and one mouse alpha 2 chain were formed and that type I collagen was secreted by the transfected cells at normal rates. However, the electrophoretic migration of both alpha 1(I) and alpha 2(I) chains in the human-mouse hybrid molecules were retarded, compared to the alpha (I) chains in control mouse cells. Inhibition of the posttranslational hydroxylation of lysine and proline resulted in comigration of human and mouse alpha 1 and alpha 2 chains, suggesting that increased posttranslational modification caused the altered electrophoretic migration in the human-mouse hybrid molecules. Amino acid sequence differences between the mouse and human alpha chains may interfere with the normal rate of helix formation and increase the degree of posttranslational modifications similar to those observed in patients with lethal perinatal osteogenesis imperfecta. The Mov-13 mouse system should allow us to study the effect specific mutations introduced in transfected pro alpha 1(I) genes have on the synthesis, assembly, and function of collagen I.

Animals↗

Activation of endogenous retroviral genomes in Mov strains of mice.

A collection of Mov mouse strains, each carrying in their germ line a Moloney murine leukaemia virus (M-MuLV) proviral genome at a different chromosomal location, was used to study expression of endogenous retroviruses. No M-MuLV-specific RNA was detected in the non-viraemic Mov strains studied, indicating that less than two copies of RNA are transcribed per cell. Virus expression was seen in three viraemic Mov strains. In Mov-3 mice the provirus was activated shortly after birth, whereas proviruses in Mov-9 and Mov-14 were activated at different stages of embryogenesis. The results suggest that the chromosomal position influences proviral expression during development. The first appearance of virus particles was not accompanied by detectable amounts of viral transcripts, suggesting that viraemia is a consequence of provirus activation in a small, as yet unidentified, population of cells, followed by virus spread and infection of susceptible cells.

Age Factors↗

Retroviruses and insertional mutagenesis in mice: proviral integration at the Mov 34 locus leads to early embryonic death.

Thirty-four transgenic mouse strains, each carrying a single proviral insert, were generated by infection of preimplantation and postimplantation embryos with retroviruses. Animals homozygous for proviral integrations were derived for all strains with the exception of Mov 24, where the provirus is inserted on the Y chromosome, and Mov 34. Embryos homozygous at the Mov 34 locus develop normally to the blastocyst stage and die shortly after implantation, indicating that virus integration resulted in a recessive lethal mutation. The provirus and flanking sequences were cloned and the virus was mapped to the 5' side of an abundantly and ubiquitously transcribed gene. Similar to the previously derived Mov 13 mutation, proviral integration at the Mov 34 locus interferes with the expression of the adjacent gene. These and our previous results indicate that of a total of 48 proviral integrations in the germ line, two resulted in transgenic mouse strains with recessive lethal mutations.

Animals↗

Retrovirus integration and chromatin structure: Moloney murine leukemia proviral integration sites map near DNase I-hypersensitive sites.

The chromatin conformation of mouse genome regions containing Moloney murine leukemia proviral intergration sites in two Mov mouse strains and randomly selected integration sites in virus-infected mouse 3T3 fibroblasts was analyzed. All integrations have occurred into chromosomal regions containing several DNase-hypersensitive sites, and invariably the proviral integration sites map within a few hundred base pairs of a DNase-hypersensitive site. The probability that this close association between proviral integration sites and DNase-hypersensitive sites was due to chance was calculated to be extremely low (2 X 10(-4]. Because the proviral integrations analyzed were not selected for an altered phenotype, our results suggest that DNase-hypersensitive regions are preferred targets for retrovirus integration.

Animals↗

Rescue of type I collagen-deficient phenotype by retroviral-vector-mediated transfer of human pro alpha 1(I) collagen gene into Mov-13 cells.

A full-length cDNA clone corresponding to the human pro alpha 1(I) collagen gene was isolated and inserted into a retrovirus vector. Cell lines were obtained which produced recombinant viruses transducing the collagen cDNA (HUC virus). To test whether the transduced cDNA was functional, Mov-13 mouse cells were infected with the virus. These cells do not produce any type I collagen due to an insertional mutation of the pro alpha 1(I) gene which blocks transcription. While normal amounts of pro alpha 2(I) RNA were synthesized, no alpha 2(I) collagen chains were detectable in the mutant Mov-13 cells. Infection with HUC virus, however, resulted in the production of stable type I collagen, which was secreted into the medium. Analysis of pepsin-resistant proteins indicated that interspecies heterotrimers consisting of human alpha 1(I) and mouse alpha 2(I) collagen chains were secreted by the infected Mov-13 cells. Our results show that pro alpha (I) collagen chains from species as distant as human and mouse can associate to form stable type I collagen. The availability of a retrovirus vector transducing a functional pro alpha 1(I) collagen gene combined with the Mov-13 mutant system should enable us to study the effect of specific mutations on the synthesis, assembly, and function of type I collagen, not only in tissue culture but also in the animal.

Animals↗

Two distinct sequence elements mediate retroviral gene expression in embryonal carcinoma cells.

Moloney murine leukemia virus (M-MuLV) and M-MuLV-derived retroviral vectors are not expressed in early mouse embryos or in embryonal carcinoma cells. M-MuLV-derived mutants or M-MuLV-related variants which transduce the neomycin phosphotransferase gene can, however, induce drug resistance in embryonal carcinoma cells with high efficiency. In this study we investigated the sequences critical for retroviral gene expression in two different embryonal carcinoma cell lines, F9 and PCC4. We show that two synergistically acting sequence elements mediate expression in embryonal carcinoma cells. One of these is located within the U3 region of the viral long terminal repeat, and the second one is in the 5' untranslated region of the retrovirus. The latter element, characterized by a single point mutation, affects the level of stable RNA in infected cells, suggesting a regulatory mechanism similar to that of human immunodeficiency virus in human T cells.

Animals↗