mRNA Expression of Vimentin Gene in Lens of Transgenic Mouse and DNA Amplification in Human Cataracts

Purpose:To investigate the role of vimentin gene in cataractogenesis.Methods:The12.7kb chicken vimentin genes were microinjected into the male pronuclei of 918 fertilized mice eggs.841injected embryos were transferred into oviducts of pseudopregnant recipient females.of which 12pregnant mice gave birth to 49offsping mice.The integration and expression of exogenous gene in the offsping were analysed by Southern and Northern blot byhridizations,In the human senile cataract,the lens vimentin gene was analyzed with the chicken vi-mentin gene probe.Results:It showed that four of F1offspring were transgenic mice in which the chicken vimenttin gene was integrated in their genomes.The transgenic band was12kb,similar to the12.7kb chicken vimentin fragment injected.One2kbvi-mentin mRNAwas visualized on E2 mouse lens blot.which revealed that the chicken vimentin gene was efficiently expressed in this transgenic mouse.In the humansenile cataract lens,12kb BamHI-restricted vimentin fragments displayed a stronger hybridization signal than that of the control lens in Southern blot anal-ysis,It implies that the Formation of human senile cataract may be associated with the amplification of vimentin gene.Conclusions:We have successfully developed four transgenic mice bearing chicken vimentin gene and having mRNA expression which can be used for further study.It is to be observed if the normal lens cell function is affected by the expressed product and cataract occurs in our transgenic mice.The cause of the gene ampli-fication in human ctaract remains for further investigation.Eye Science 1995;11:113-116.

Purpose: To investigate the role of vimentin gene in cataractogenesis. Methods: The 12. 7kb chicken vimentin genes were microinjected into the male pronuclei of 918 fertilized mice eggs. 841 injected embryos were transferred into oviducts of pseudopregnant recipient females, of which 12 pregnant mice gave birth to 49 offsping mice. The integration and expression of exogenous gene in the offsping were analysed by Southern and Northern blot hybridizations. In the human senile cataract, the lens vimentin gene was analyzed with the chicken vimentin gene probe. Results: It showed that four of F1 offspring were transgenic mice in which the chicken vimentin gene was integrated in their genomes. The transgenic band was 12kb, similar to the 12. 7kb chicken vimentin fragment injected. One 2kb vimentin mRNA was visualized on E2 mouse lens blot, which revealed that the chicken vimentin gene was efficiently expressed in this transgenic mouse. In the human senile cataract lens, 12kb BamHI-restricted vimentin fragments displayed a stronger hybridization signal than that of the control lens in Southern blot analysis. It implies that the formation of human senile cataract may be associated with the amplification of vimentin gene. Conclusions : We have successfully developed four transgenic mice bearing chicken vimentin gene and having mRNA expression which can be used for further study. It is to be observed if the normal lens cell function is affected by the expressed product and cataract occurs in our transgenic mice. The cause of the gene amplification in human ctaract remains for further investigation. Eye Science 1995; 11: 113-116.