PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Germ-Line Mutation”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

Chorion gene cis-regulatory DNA restricts tissue specificity of reporter gene expression in transformed Drosophila.

P element mediated germ-line transformation was used to study the developmental specificity of Drosophila chorion gene regulatory sequences directing expression of the bacterial reporter genes for chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) and beta-galactosidase (lacZ). DNA fragments containing 5' flanking plus the entire 5' untranslated and the beginning of the coding region of either the s36 or the s15 chorion gene are able to confer on the reporter genes normal tissue as well as temporal specificity of expression, exclusively in the ovary of transformed female flies. However, if 5' untranslated and coding regions are omitted, normal ovarian expression is maintained but tissue specificity is relaxed: expression of the reporter gene is detected both in the ovary and in specific non-ovarian tissues of transformed females and males. The evidence suggests that the missing 5' untranslated and coding sequences may include negative elements that normally suppress expression in non-ovarian tissues, and that these putative elements are distinct from those that prevent premature expression in the ovarian follicles. The exact location of ectopic lacZ expression within the internal male genitalia depends on the constellation of 5' flanking chorion regulatory sequences included in the P element constructs. Ectopic expression of the CAT gene in the male genitalia under s15 promoter control can be abolished by mutating the hexamer TCACGT, a sequence previously shown to be essential for the normal expression of this chorion gene in the ovary.

Animals↗

Germ-line transmission of a disrupted beta 2-microglobulin gene produced by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules are integral membrane proteins present on virtually all vertebrate cells and consist of a heterodimer between the highly polymorphic alpha-chain and the beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2-m) protein of relative molecular mass 12,000 (ref. 1). These cell-surface molecules play a pivotal part in the recognition of antigens, the cytotoxic response of T cells, and the induction of self tolerance. It is possible, however, that the function of MHC class I molecules is not restricted to the immune system, but extends to a wide variety of biological reactions including cell-cell interactions. For example, MHC class I molecules seem to be associated with various cell-surface proteins, including the receptors for insulin, epidermal growth factor, luteinizing hormone and the beta-adrenergic receptor. In mice, class I molecules are secreted in the urine and act as highly specific olfactory cues which influence mating preference. The beta 2-m protein has also been identified as the smaller component of the Fc receptor in neonatal intestinal cells, and it has been suggested that the protein induces collagenase in fibroblasts. Cells lacking beta 2-m are deficient in the expression of MHC class I molecules, indicating that the association with beta 2-m is crucial for the transport of MHC class I molecules to the cell surface. The most direct means of unravelling the many biological functions of beta 2-m is to create a mutant mouse with a defective beta 2-m gene. We have now used the technique of homologous recombination to disrupt the beta 2-m gene. We report here that introduction of a targeting vector into embryonic stem cells resulted in beta 2-m gene disruption with high frequency. Chimaeric mice derived from blastocysts injected with mutant embryonic stem cell clones transmit the mutant allele to their offspring.

Animals↗

Intracellular selection, conversion bias, and the expected substitution rate of organelle genes.

A key step in the substitution of a new organelle mutant throughout a population is the generation of germ-line cells homoplasmic for that mutant. Given that each cell typically contains multiple copies of organelles, each of which in turn contains multiple copies of the organelle genome, processes akin to drift and selection in a population are responsible for producing homoplasmic cells. This paper examines the expected substitution rate of new mutants by obtaining the probability that a new mutant is fixed throughout a cell, allowing for arbitrary rates of genome turnover within an organelle and organelle turnover within the cell, as well as (possibly biased) gene conversion and genetic differences in genome and/or organelle replication rates. Analysis is based on a variation of Moran's model for drift in a haploid population. One interesting result is that if the rate of unbiased conversion is sufficiently strong, it creates enough intracellular drift to overcome even strong differences in the replication rates of wild-type and mutant genomes. Thus, organelles with very high conversion rates are more resistant to intracellular selection based on differences in genome replication and/or degradation rates. It is found that the amount of genetic exchange between organelles within the cell greatly influences the probability of fixation. In the absence of exchange, biased gene conversion and/or differences in genome replication rates do not influence the probability of fixation beyond the initial fixation within a single organelle. With exchange, both these processes influence the probability of fixation throughout the entire cell. Generally speaking, exchange between organelles accentuates the effects of directional intracellular forces.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

DNA Replication↗

Severe combined immunodeficiency in man with an absence of immunoglobulin gene rearrangements but normal T cell receptor assembly.

An autosomal recessive type of severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID) was characterized by an absence of immunoglobulins (Ig) in the serum and of Ig+ lymphocytes in bone barrow (BM) and peripheral blood. In the BM CD10+/terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-positive lymphocytes were identified. Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B lymphoblastoid cell lines (BLCL) obtained from BM and peripheral blood did not synthesize Ig. The Ig heavy and light chain gene complexes in the BLCL had retained the germ-line configuration. Mature T cells were present but their numbers in peripheral blood were decreased. T lymphoblastoid cells derived from peripheral blood expressed normal T cell receptor (TcR) CD3 complexes and manifested various genomic TcR rearrangements. It was concluded that this type of SCID entailed a complete arrest of B lymphocyte differentiation in an early stage prior to Ig rearrangements and a quantitative defect of T lymphocytes which nevertheless allowed development of mature T cells. Repeated failures of BM transplantation and the striking absence of Ig assembly suggested that this SCID defect resides in the BM microenvironment.

Antigens, CD↗

V lambda and J lambda-C lambda gene segments of the human immunoglobulin lambda light chain locus are separated by 14 kb and rearrange by a deletion mechanism.

We have cloned a region of 124 kb of the human immunoglobulin lambda light chain locus on chromosome 22 encompassing seven V lambda and seven J-C lambda gene segments. No further C lambda gene segment was found in a region of 35 kb downstream of C lambda 7, which encodes the Ke+Oz- isotype. The C lambda proximal V lambda gene segment V lambda III. 1 is located 14.5 kb upstream of C lambda 1. The five sequenced V lambda genes have the same transcriptional orientation as the J-C lambda gene segments which is likely to be true for the majority of the V lambda gene segments in the human lambda locus and which suggests a deletion mechanism for DNA rearrangement. This is supported by hybridization of V lambda gene probes to germ-line and rearranged DNA from lambda light chain-producing cell lines. Sequences of 23 cDNA clones allow to establish a V lambda subgroup classification based on nucleic acid sequence data and an estimate of the J-C lambda usage.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Primary B-cell response to neuropeptide Y and bovine pancreatic polypeptide.

An analysis of the murine primary response to protein epitopes has been made with two small highly structured proteins, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and bovine pancreatic polypeptide (BPP), both of 36-amino acid residue length and containing helical structures. A group of cell lines producing monoclonal IgM antibody have been prepared consisting of six anti-NPY and two anti-BPP. The VH nucleotide sequences have been determined and characterized as germ-line either by identity to established germ-line sequences or by inference from the germ-line character of the D and JH segments. The intrinsic association constants for the homologous ligands have been estimated to range from 10(4) to 10(7) M-1 based on competitive ELISA. No severe restriction in the utilization of VH families, D segments or JH segments appears to be involved in this response. Among the eight cell lines, three VH families were represented as well as all three families of D segments and all of the JH segments, although some preference for JH3 was indicated. The length of the N(D)N sequences was also not subject to restriction, ranging from 9 to 29. Two unusual features of the CRD3s were noted, one involving the utilization of an uncommon DSP2 segment and the other the apparent occurrence of a D-D fusion.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification of a genomic DNA fragment containing the Drosophila melanogaster ovarian tumor gene (otu) and localization of regions governing its expression.

We have identified a genomic DNA fragment which restores fertility to mutants of the ovarian tumor locus (otu) of Drosophila melanogaster. Germ-line transformants bearing this fragment express otu mRNA with the same tissue specificity as, and at levels comparable to, the wild-type otu gene. Transcription from the otu promoter, P(otu), which lacks a TATA element, appears to be initiated at multiple transcription start points (tsp) within an 80-bp region. Deletion of sequences upstream of the tsp indicates that a region between nucleotides -190 and -310 is required for proper expression from the otu gene. A DNA fragment containing 452 bp upstream and 126 bp downstream from the tsp is able to direct expression of the Escherichia coli lacZ gene in the germ cells of the ovary and testis, indicating that cis-acting regulatory elements governing these expression patterns are located in a 578-bp region surrounding the multiple tsp.

Animals↗

Effects of the steel gene product on mouse primordial germ cells in culture.

Mutations at the steel (sl) and dominant white spotting (W) loci in the mouse affect primordial germ cells (PGC), melanoblasts and haemopoietic stem cells. The W gene encodes a cell-surface receptor of the tyrosine kinase family, the proto-oncogene c-kit. In situ analysis has shown c-kit messenger RNA expression in PGC in the early genital ridges. The Sl gene encodes the ligand for this receptor, a peptide growth factor, called here stem cell factor (SCF). SCF mRNA is expressed in many regions of the early mouse embryo, including the areas of migration of these cell types. It is important now to identify the role of the Sl-W interaction in the development of these migratory embryonic stem cell populations. Using an in vitro assay system, we show that SCF increases both the overall numbers and colony sizes of migratory PGC isolated from wild-type mouse embryos, and cultured on irradiated feeder layers of STO cells (a mouse embryonic fibroblast line). In the absence of feeder cells, SCF causes a large increase in the initial survival and apparent motility of PGC in culture. But labelling with bromodeoxyuridine shows that SCF is not, by itself, a mitogen for PGC. SCF does not exert a chemotropic effect on PGC in in vitro assays. These results suggest that SCF in vivo is an essential requirement for PGC survival. This demonstrates the control of the early germ-line population by a specific trophic factor.

Animals↗

Demonstration of low density lipoprotein receptors in mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells and description of a method for producing receptor-deficient mutant mice.

Familial hypercholesterolemia, a widespread human genetic disorder implicated in vascular and coronary disease, has had no laboratory animal counterpart that would enable the pathogenesis to be analyzed and drugs to be tested in vivo. The primary lesion in some patients is known to occur in the cells' initial handling of the major cholesterol-carrying lipoprotein of plasma. It entails a deficiency in the specific cell surface receptor that binds low density lipoprotein (LDL), with a consequent alteration in the control of cholesterol metabolism. The present study was undertaken to devise a practical scheme for producing, from developmentally versatile mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells, whole-animal models with a comparable genetic lesion. This requires first learning whether the tumor stem cells in culture express LDL receptors, and next establishing a selection or screening procedure to identify receptor-deficient mutants in mutagenized cell cultures. The results show that the teratocarcinoma cells do in fact have specific high-affinity LDL receptors which are similar to those reported for fibroblasts and the parenchymal cells of specialized tissues and different from those of phagocytic cells. Sterols suppressed the otherwise efficient binding, internalization, and degradation of LDL ((125)I-labeled) by the cells. Acetylation of LDL blocked the binding. Only LDL and not high density lipoprotein (HDL) was bound. After LDL uptake and degradation, the liberated cholesterol led, as expected, to increased cholesteryl ester formation; it also suppressed activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase [HMG CoA reductase; mevalonate: NADP(+) oxidoreductase (CoA-acylating), EC 1.1.1.34], the rate-limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis. Cells with LDL receptors were readily visualized by administering a fluorescent derivative of LDL; in the fluorescence microscope, labeling was seen in all cells. Cells with experimentally depressed receptors, yielding little fluorescence, were separable from those with normal fluorescence in the fluorescence-activated cell sorter. Thus, two methods for isolating receptor-deficient cells from mutagenized cultures are now available, either by visual recognition of low-fluorescing or nonfluorescing colonies in culture plates or by electronic cell sorting. Such mutants in an appropriate line of teratocarcinoma cells can then be passaged into blastocysts for full somatic tissue differentiation and germ-line development into mice.

Animals↗

Germ-line transmission of a planned alteration made in a hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase gene by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells (derived from 129/Ola mice) containing a mutant hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase gene that had been corrected in vitro in a planned manner by homologous recombination were injected into blastocysts obtained from C57BL/6J mice. The injected blastocysts were introduced into pseudopregnant female mice to complete their development. Eleven surviving pups were obtained. Nine were chimeras: six males and three females. Two of the males transmitted the embryonic stem cell genome containing the alteration in the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase gene to their offspring at high frequencies. These experiments demonstrate that a preplanned alteration in a chosen gene can be made in the germ line of an experimental animal by homologous recombination in an embryonic stem cell.

Animals↗

Clonal lymphoid progenitor cell lines expressing the BCR/ABL oncogene retain full differentiative function.

The early stages of hematopoiesis have been difficult to study due to problems in obtaining homogeneous populations of progenitor cells that retain both self-renewal and differentiative capacities. We have developed an in vitro system in which transformation of murine bone-marrow cells with the BCR/ABL oncogene, a gene associated with stem-cell leukemias, leads to the outgrowth of clonal lines that have an early lymphoid progenitor cell phenotype. The progenitor cells retain immunoglobulin heavy and light chain genes in a germ-line configuration. These cells give rise in vitro to pre-B cells that have diverse diversity-joining (D-J) region rearrangements, and on transfer to mice with severe combined immune deficiency, differentiate to surface IgM+, immunoglobulin-secreting B cells that respond to T-cell help and function in an antigen-specific fashion. Although their growth is stimulated by BCR/ABL, the progenitor cells depend for continued growth on a stromal cell-derived soluble factor distinct from the pre-B-cell growth factor, interleukin 7. These findings show that BCR/ABL can promote proliferation of an early hematopoietic progenitor cell without preventing its differentiation. This system provides a means of studying the complete B-cell developmental process from clonal progenitor cell to end-stage plasma cell.

Animals↗

Genetic control of sex determination in the germ line of Caenorhabditis elegans.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans normally exists as one of two sexes: self-fertilizing hermaphrodite or male. Development as hermaphrodite or male requires the differentiation of each tissue in a sex-specific way. In this review, I discuss the genetic control of sex determination in a single tissue of C. elegans: the germ line. Sex determination in the germ line depends on the action of two types of genes:--those that act globally in all tissues to direct male or female development and those that act only in the germ line to specify either spermatogenesis or oogenesis. First, I consider a tissue-specific sex-determining gene, fog-1, which promotes spermatogenesis in the germ line. Second, I consider the regulation of the hermaphrodite pattern of germ-line gametogenesis where first sperm and then oocytes are produced.

Animals↗

The positive and negative transcriptional regulation of the Drosophila Gapdh-2 gene.

One of the genes encoding glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase of Drosophila melanogaster, Gapdh-2, is expressed in all cell types examined, but its level of expression is regulated developmentally. Here we report the analysis of the regulatory sequences for the transcription of Gapdh-2. We have generated Gapdh-2-LacZ fusion genes in which the 5'-flanking sequence of Gapdh-2 has been mutated. Examination of the expression of these fusion genes, which have been introduced by transfection into the Schneider II cell line and by germ-line transformation into flies, led to the identification of two distinct regulatory regions, URS-1 and URS-2, within the first 145 bp of the 5'-flanking sequence of Gapdh-2. URS-1 activates transcription throughout the development of Drosophila. However, URS-2 exhibits a dual function during the development. It clearly represses transcription in Schneider II cells, and perhaps also in mid-stage embryos. In contrast, it activates transcription in larvae and adult flies. Thus, URS-2 plays a key role in the developmental regulation of Gapdh-2. Additionally, the efficient transcription of Gapdh-2 in larval and adult stages appears to depend on a synergistic function of URS-1 and URS-2.

Animals↗

cappuccino and spire: two unique maternal-effect loci required for both the anteroposterior and dorsoventral patterns of the Drosophila embryo.

cappuccino and spire are unique Drosophila maternal-effect loci that participate in pattern formation in both the anteroposterior and dorsoventral axes of the early embryo. Mutant females produce embryos lacking pole cells, polar granules, and normal abdominal segmentation. They share these defects with the posterior group of maternal-effect genes. Although embryos are defective in abdominal segmentation, in double mutant combinations with Bicaudal D, abdominal segments can be formed in the anterior half of the egg. This indicates that embryos produced by mutant females contain the 'posterior determinant' required for abdominal segmentation (Nüsslein-Volhard et al. 1987) and suggests that the wild-type gene products are not required for production of the posterior determinant but, rather, for its localization or stabilization. The vasa protein, a component of polar granules, is not localized at the posterior pole of mutant egg chambers or embryos, providing additional support for the hypothesis that localization to or stabilization of substances at the posterior pole of the egg chamber is defective in mutant females. Females mutant for the strongest alleles also produce dorsalized embryos. Phenotypic analysis reveals that these dorsalized embryos also have abdominal segmentation defects. The mutant phenotypes can be ordered in a series of increasing severity. Pole cell formation is most sensitive to loss of functional gene products, followed by abdominal segmentation, whereas normal dorsoventral patterning is the least sensitive to loss of functional gene products. In addition, mutant females contain egg chambers that appear to be dorsalized, resulting in the production of eggs with dorsalized eggshells. Germ-line mosaics indicate that cappuccino and spire are required in the oocyte-nurse cell complex. This suggests that the eggshell phenotype results from altered pattern in the underlying germ cell. Also, we defined the epistatic relationships between several early patterning loci, on the basis of an analysis of the eggs and embryos produced by females doubly mutant for cappuccino or spire and other loci that affect the pattern of both the egg and the embryo. On the basis of our current knowledge of the genes involved in this process, we formulated a working model for the early steps in dorsoventral patterning.

Animals↗

Selective disruption of genes expressed in totipotent embryonal stem cells.

Two retrovirus promoter trap vectors (U3His and U3Neo) have been used to disrupt genes expressed in totipotent murine embryonal stem (ES) cells. Selection in L-histidinol or G418 produced clones in which the coding sequences for histidinol-dehydrogenase or neomycin-phosphotransferase were fused to sequences in or near the 5' exons of expressed genes, including one in the developmentally regulated REX-1 gene. Five of seven histidinol-resistant clones and three of three G418-resistant clones generated germ-line chimeras. A total of four disrupted genes have been passed to the germ line, of which two resulted in embryonic lethalities when bred to homozygosity. The ability to screen large numbers of recombinant ES cell clones for significant mutations, both in vitro and in vivo, circumvents genetic limitations imposed by the size and long generation time of mice and will facilitate a functional analysis of the mouse genome.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗

Insertion and excision of Caenorhabditis elegans transposable element Tc1.

The transposable element Tc1 is responsible for most spontaneous mutations that occur in Caenorhabditis elegans variety Bergerac. We investigated the genetic and molecular properties of Tc1 transposition and excision. We show that Tc1 insertion into the unc-54 myosin heavy-chain gene was strongly site specific. The DNA sequences of independent Tc1 insertion sites were similar to each other, and we present a consensus sequence for Tc1 insertion that describes these similarities. We show that Tc1 excision was usually imprecise. Tc1 excision was imprecise in both germ line and somatic cells. Imprecise excision generated novel unc-54 alleles that had amino acid substitutions, amino acid insertions, and, in certain cases, probably altered mRNA splicing. The DNA sequences remaining after Tc1 somatic excision were the same as those remaining after germ line excision, but the frequency of somatic excision was at least 1,000-fold higher than that of germ line excision. The genetic properties of Tc1 excision, combined with the DNA sequences of the resulting unc-54 alleles, demonstrated that excision was dependent on Tc1 transposition functions in both germ line and somatic cells. Somatic excision was not regulated in the same strain-specific manner as germ-line excision was. In a genetic background where Tc1 transposition and excision in the germ line was not detectable, Tc1 excision in the soma still occurred at high frequency.

Animals↗

The biological origin of antibody diversity.

Antibody diversity has a compelling fascination for many scientists and over the years speculations have sometimes seemed more numerous than facts. Now the structural basis of antibody specificity is well defined. Amino acid sequences and recently three-dimensional structures of various immunoglobulins provide the most solid basis for discussing the origin of diversity. The novel pattern of variable (V) and Constant (C) regions of amino acid sequence has been resolved further to show the functional pattern of variability. Inheritance of separate V and C genes is accepted, but attempts to define more than one gene coding for each V region are considered here to be unnecessary. The pattern of variability is still best understood in terms of mutation and the presence or absence of various selective pressures. The major area of debate still hinges around the extent to which mutation and selection operate during evolution or somatically. Sequence data have now been generally interpreted to require multiple V genes carried in the germ line. A few individual VH genes have been mapped in close linkage to CH genes in the mouse. The apparent existence of three VH alleles in rabbits was a strong argument against multiple V genes. Now the three phenotypes have been shown to be due to alleles controlling the expression of three sets of VH genes all present on the same chromosome. That V-gene expression requires rejoining of V and C genes at the DNA level is now almost certain. Models for the joining process can draw on the precedents of transposable genetic elements, which are widespread in Nature. The total extent of antibody diversity remains a philosophical point. Estimates of the number of antibody molecules required for observed diversity are reduced by two recently documented proposals. Each antibody combining site apparently has many (estimated at 100) different specificities and most combinations of VH and VL regions probably form a viable site. A given combining site can be defined by its pattern of shared specificities. Several specific antibody repertoires have been measured and the size in each case is consistent with the stringency with which the specificity is selected. Repertoire size appears to be under genetic control, but there are problems in viewing the genotype through the veil of clonal selection. Molecular hybridization has been used recently in an attempt to count V and C genes directly. C genes are seen in DNA having nonreiterated sequences, as formal genetics predicts. Each V-region probe hybridizes at a similar rate to C-region probes. Interpretation of this result depends on the extent to which one V-region probe will reveal nonhomologous V genes. Previous estimates that many cross-hybridizing genes should have been seen if present are possibly exaggerated. It is argued here that the data are compatible with a germ-line gene for each probe studied. Maximum estimates for the number of germ-line genes are sufficient to account for antibody diversity...

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Influence of a V kappa 8 L chain transgene on endogenous rearrangements and the immune response to the HA(Sb) determinant on influenza virus.

A rearranged murine V kappa 8/J kappa 5 L chain gene that codes for the L chain of most antibodies generated in the primary response of BALB/c mice to the antigenic site, Sb, of the hemagglutinin (HA) molecule of influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (PR8) has been cloned. Three transgenic lines were generated by microinjecting the gene. Lines Ga and L each contain a single copy of the transgene whereas line Gb contains three complete copies. Mice of the Ga lineage showed increased V kappa 8-specific mRNA levels only in spleen, but not in nonlymphoid organs and therefore displayed apparently normal lymphoid-specific regulation of the Ig transgene. B cell hybridomas generated from these mice were analyzed for rearrangements of endogenous V kappa genes. Greater than 90% of the C kappa alleles were retained in germ-line configuration in the Ga line, compared with only 0 to 18% in the L line. Thus, a wide variation in the frequency of endogenous rearrangements is seen among mice of different lineages using the same transgene construct. None of more than 150 hybridomas derived from LPS-stimulated splenic B cells of Ga mice exhibited HA-binding activity although they expressed the transgene and, in most cases, excluded endogenous V kappa rearrangements. In contrast, a large fraction of hybridomas isolated after primary immunization with PR8 were HA(Sb)-specific. This indicated that the transgene was functional but formed HA-specific antibodies with a more restricted set of H chains than previously hypothesized. The primary anti-HA response to immunization with PR8 was diminished in all lines compared with normal mice except for a slightly accelerated but transient burst of anti-HA antibody formation in two out of three lines (Ga and Gb). This early response in G lineage mice was largely specific for HA(Sb) and thus appeared to be composed of transgene-expressing antibodies. No differences in serum titers were observed in the secondary anti-HA responses to booster inoculation with PR8 between transgenic and normal mice.

Animals↗