Germline Transmission and Tissue-Specific Expression of Transgenes Delivered by Lentiviral Vectors

TLDR

Recombinant lentiviral vectors were used to infect single‑cell mouse embryos in vitro, producing transgenic mice that carry a ubiquitously expressed GFP gene. Eighty percent of founder mice carried the transgene, 90% of those expressed high‑level GFP, the transgene was inherited by progeny, tissue‑specific promoters drove GFP expression only in target cells, and the method also produced GFP‑expressing transgenic rats.

Abstract

Single-cell mouse embryos were infected in vitro with recombinant lentiviral vectors to generate transgenic mice carrying the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene driven by a ubiquitously expressing promoter . Eighty percent of founder mice carried at least one copy of the transgene, and 90% of these expressed GFP at high levels. Progeny inherited the transgene(s) and displayed green fluorescence. Mice generated using lentiviral vectors with muscle-specific and T lymphocyte–specific promoters expressed high levels of GFP only in the appropriate cell types. We have also generated transgenic rats that express GFP at high levels, suggesting that this technique can be used to produce other transgenic animal species.