Indicator expression directed by regulatory sequences of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) gene: In vivo comparison of distinct GFAP‐lacZ transgenes

An increase in the expression of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) gene by astrocytes appears to constitute a crucial component of the brain's response to injury because it is seen in many different species and features prominently in diverse neurological diseases. Previously, we have used a modified GFAP gene (C‐339) to target the expression of β‐galactosidase (β‐gal) to astrocytes in transgenic mice (Mucke et al.; New Biol 3:465–474 1991). To determine to what extent the in vivo Throughout this text, “in vitro” refers to cells grown in culture in culture and “in vivo” to living animals. expression of GFAP‐driven fusion genes is influenced by intragenic GFAP sequences, the E. coli lacZ reporter gene was either placed downstream of approximately 2 kb ofmurine GFAP 5′ flanking region (C‐259) or ligated into exon 1 of the entire murine GFAP gene (C‐445). Transgenic mice expressing C‐259 versus C‐445 showed similar levels and distributions of β‐gal activity in their brains. Exclusion of intragenic GFAP sequences from the GFAP‐lacZ fusion gene did not diminish injury‐induced upmodulation ofastroglial β‐gal expression or increase β‐gal expression in non‐astrocytic brain cells. These results demonstrate that 2 kb ofmurine GFAP 5′ flanking region is sufficient to restrict transgene expression primarily to astrocytes and to mediate injury‐responsiveness in vivo. This sequence therefore constitutes a critical target for mediators of reactive astrocytosis. While acute penetrating brain injuries induced focal increases in β‐gal expression around the lesion sites in C‐259, C‐445, and C‐339 transgenic mice, infection of C‐339 transgenic mice with scrapie led to a widespread upmodulation of astroglial β‐gal expression. Hence, GFAP‐lacZ transgenic mice can be used to monitor differential patterns of astroglial activation in vivo. These and related models should facilitate the assessment of strategies aimed at the in vivo manipulation of GFAP expression and astroglial activation. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

[1]  J. Sambrook,et al.  Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual , 2001 .

[2]  Michaela Brenner Structure and Transcriptional Regulation of the GFAP Gene , 1994, Brain pathology.

[3]  C. Finch,et al.  Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein: Regulation by Hormones, Cytokines, and Growth Factors , 1994, Brain pathology.

[4]  N. Sueoka,et al.  Glial-specific cAMP response of the glial fibrillary acidic protein gene cell lines. , 1994, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[5]  M. Norenberg,et al.  Astrocyte Responses to CNS Injury , 1994, Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology.

[6]  A. Messing,et al.  GFAP promoter directs astrocyte-specific expression in transgenic mice , 1994, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[7]  L. Mucke,et al.  Neurologic disease induced in transgenic mice by cerebral overexpression of interleukin 6. , 1993, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[8]  L. Mucke,et al.  Astrocytes in infectious and immune‐mediated diseases of the central nervous system , 1993, FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

[9]  L. Mucke,et al.  Expression of cathepsin G-like and α1-antichymotrypsin-like proteins in reactive astrocytes , 1993, Brain Research.

[10]  F. Besnard,et al.  Analysis of a Segment of the Human Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Gene That Directs Astrocyte‐Specific Transcription , 1993, Journal of neurochemistry.

[11]  N. Sueoka,et al.  Tissue-specific versus cell type-specific expression of the glial fibrillary acidic protein. , 1993, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[12]  M. Eddleston,et al.  Molecular profile of reactive astrocytes—Implications for their role in neurologic disease , 1993, Neuroscience.

[13]  P. Rouet,et al.  Optimized assays for quantifying transient expressions of co-transfected beta-galactosidase and CAT reporter genes. , 1992, BioTechniques.

[14]  A J Sefton,et al.  The origin and development of retinal astrocytes in the mouse , 1992, Journal of neurocytology.

[15]  Eustice Dc,et al.  A sensitive method for the detection of beta-galactosidase in transfected mammalian cells. , 1991 .

[16]  M. Brenner,et al.  Multiple interacting sites regulate astrocyte-specific transcription of the human gene for glial fibrillary acidic protein. , 1991, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[17]  N. Cowan,et al.  Intragenic Sequences Affect the Expression of the Gene Encoding Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein , 1991, Journal of Neurochemistry.

[18]  R. Jaenisch,et al.  A generic intron increases gene expression in transgenic mice , 1991, Molecular and cellular biology.

[19]  L. Mucke,et al.  Rapid activation of astrocyte-specific expression of GFAP-lacZ transgene by focal injury. , 1991, The New biologist.

[20]  G. Schönrich,et al.  Down-regulation of T cell receptors on self-reactive T cells as a novel mechanism for extrathymic tolerance induction , 1991, Cell.

[21]  Herbert Budka,et al.  Neuropathology of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection , 1991, Brain pathology.

[22]  R. Liem,et al.  Suppression by antisense mRNA demonstrates a requirement for the glial fibrillary acidic protein in the formation of stable astrocytic processes in response to neurons , 1991, The Journal of cell biology.

[23]  J. Sarid Identification of a cis‐acting positive regulatory element of glial fibrillary acidic protein gene , 1991, Journal of neuroscience research.

[24]  R. Palmiter,et al.  Heterologous introns can enhance expression of transgenes in mice. , 1991, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[25]  B. Wilffert,et al.  Effects of the selective beta 1-adrenoceptor antagonist, nebivolol, on cardiovascular parameters in the pithed normotensive rat. , 1990, Pharmacology.

[26]  K. Mikoshiba,et al.  Cell‐Specific Expression of the Mouse Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Gene: Identification of the Cis‐ and Trans‐Acting Promoter Elements for Astrocyte‐Specific Expression , 1990, Journal of neurochemistry.

[27]  M. Brenner,et al.  An RNA polymerase II promoter containing sequences upstream and downstream from the RNA startpoint that direct initiation of transcription from the same site. , 1990, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[28]  V. Stewart,et al.  Differential regulation of the N-myc gene in transfected cells and transgenic mice , 1990, Molecular and cellular biology.

[29]  M. Dohadwala,et al.  Characterization of human cDNA and genomic clones for glial fibrillary acidic protein. , 1990, Brain research. Molecular brain research.

[30]  A. Delacourte General and dramatic glial reaction in Alzheimer brains , 1990, Neurology.

[31]  J. Stone,et al.  Origin of retinal astrocytes in the rat: Evidence of migration from the optic nerve , 1989, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[32]  P. Sarthy,et al.  Transcriptional activation of an intermediate filament protein gene in mice with retinal dystrophy. , 1989, DNA.

[33]  C. Caskey,et al.  Construction of plasmids that express E. coli beta-galactosidase in mammalian cells. , 1989, Nucleic acids research.

[34]  E. Fuchs,et al.  Tissue-specific and differentiation-specific expression of a human K14 keratin gene in transgenic mice. , 1989, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[35]  M. Raff,et al.  Retinal astrocytes are immigrants from the optic nerve , 1988, Nature.

[36]  E. Wagner,et al.  Expression of human alpha 1-acid glycoprotein genes in cultured cells and in transgenic mice. , 1988, Genes & development.

[37]  R. Schooley,et al.  Subacute encephalomyelitis of AIDS and its relation to HTLV‐III infection , 1987, Neurology.

[38]  N. Cowan,et al.  Structure of the mouse glial fibrillary acidic protein gene: implications for the evolution of the intermediate filament multigene family. , 1985, Nucleic acids research.

[39]  J. Coffin,et al.  Bacterial beta-galactosidase as a marker of Rous sarcoma virus gene expression and replication , 1985, Molecular and cellular biology.

[40]  L. Eng,et al.  Glial fibrillary acidic protein is localized in the lens epithelium , 1984, The Journal of cell biology.

[41]  M. Shelanski,et al.  Sequence of a cDNA clone encoding mouse glial fibrillary acidic protein: structural conservation of intermediate filaments. , 1984, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[42]  L. Eng,et al.  Immunocytochemical staining for glial fibrillary acidic protein and the metabolism of cytoskeletal proteins in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis , 1983, Brain Research.

[43]  A. Bignami,et al.  THE ASTROGLIAL RESPONSE TO STABBING. IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE STUDIES WITH ANTIBODIES TO ASTROCYTE‐SPECIFIC PROTEIN (GFA) IN MAMMALIAN AND SUBMAMMALIAN VERTEBRATES , 1976 .

[44]  A. Bignami,et al.  Heterogeneity of the glial fibrillary acidic protein in gliosed human brains. , 1974, Journal of Neurological Sciences.

[45]  L. Eng,et al.  Localization of the glial fibrillary acidic protein in astrocytes by immunofluorescence. , 1972, Brain research.

[46]  C. Eklund,et al.  Some Properties of the Scrapie Agent and Its Behavior in Mice , 1963 .

[47]  R. L. Chandler Experimental Scrapie in the Mouse , 1963 .

[48]  L. Mucke,et al.  Transgenic models to assess the neuropathogenic potential of HIV-1 proteins and cytokines. , 1995, Current topics in microbiology and immunology.

[49]  L. Mucke,et al.  Central nervous system damage produced by expression of the HIV-1 coat protein gp120 in transgenic mice. , 1994, Nature.

[50]  C. Wilson,et al.  Position effects on eukaryotic gene expression. , 1990, Annual review of cell biology.

[51]  T. Beach,et al.  Patterns of gliosis in alzheimer's disease and aging cerebrum , 1989, Glia.

[52]  R. Palmiter,et al.  Germ-line transformation of mice. , 1986, Annual review of genetics.

[53]  S. Palay,et al.  The Neuroglial Cells of the Cerebellar Cortex , 1974 .