A 2.4-kb truncated L-plastin promoter was inserted either 5' to the LacZ gene (Ad-Lp-LacZ) or 5' to the cytosine deaminase (CD) gene (Ad-Lp-CD) in a replication-incompetent adenoviral vector backbone. Infectivity and cytotoxicity experiments with the LacZ and CD vectors suggested that the L-plastin promoter-driven transcriptional units were expressed at much higher levels in explants of ovarian...

Photoacoustic molecular imaging, combined with the reporter-gene technique, can provide a valuable tool for cancer research. The expression of the lacZ reporter gene can be imaged using photoacoustic imaging following the injection of X-gal, a colorimetric assay for the lacZ-encoded enzyme β-galactosidase. Dual-wavelength photoacoustic microscopy was used to non-invasively image the detailed mo...

The scrA gene coding for sucrose EnzymelI of the phosphoenolpyruvate dependent phosphotransferase system previously isolated from Streptococcus mutans was fused in vitro to the promoterless lacZ" gene to monitor the expression of the scrA gene. The scrA :: lacZ gene fusion was introduced back into S. mutans GS-5IS3 by two independent transformation procedures involving either linear or plasmid ...

Previous studies have shown that mouse gamma F-crystallin sequences -759 to +45, which include the core promoter and two upstream enhancer elements, contain sufficient information for directing gene expression to terminally differentiated fiber cells of the ocular lens. To investigate the role that proximal sequences of the mouse gamma F-crystallin promoter play in the developmental regulation ...

We have used the bacterial beta-galactosidase gene (lacZ) as a reporter gene for the rapid measurement of T-cell antigen receptor (TCR)-mediated activation of individual T cells. The reporter construct contained the lacZ gene under the control of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NF-AT) element of the human interleukin 2 enhancer [Fiering, S., Northrop, J. P., Nolan, G. P., Matilla, P., ...

Results on the localization of erythropoietin (Epo) synthesis in renal cells have been contradictory, implicating either interstitial or tubular cells. We fused the lacZ gene to a 7-kb DNA fragment of the mouse Epo gene encompassing a portion of the first intron, the first exon, and a 6-kb sequence of the 5'-flanking region. Transgenic mice carrying this construct show a low level of specific e...

We have developed a large-scale, expression-based gene trap strategy to perform genome-wide functional analysis of the murine hematopoietic and vascular systems. Using two different gene trap vectors, we have isolated embryonic stem (ES) cell clones containing lacZ reporter gene insertions in genes expressed in blood island and vascular cells, muscle, stromal cells, and unknown cell types. Of 7...

In an effort to improve the knowledge about the rules which direct the effect of the early ORF sequences on translation efficiency, we have analyzed the effect of pairs of the six arginine codons at the second and third positions on the expression of lacZ variants. Whereas the pairs of identical AGA or AGG codons were favorable for the gene expression, identical pairs of each of the four CGN co...

The skin is an important target for gene transfer because of its easy accessibility. Recently, we demonstrated that an in vivo electroporation approach could be applied to plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid delivery in rat skin of the abdominal area. Plate-and-fork type electrodes were effective for gene delivery by skin-targeted gene transfer. Eight 12-24 V, 50-m electric pulses were delivered thro...

Wild-type strains of the phytopathogenic enterobacterium Erwinia chrysanthemi are unable to use lactose as a carbon source for growth although they possess a beta-galactosidase activity. Lactose-fermenting derivatives from some wild types, however, can be obtained spontaneously at a frequency of about 5 X 10(-7). All Lac+ derivatives isolated had acquired a constitutive lactose transport system...