Vectors used for gene targeting experiments usually consist of a selectable marker flanked by two regions of homology to the targeted gene. In a homologous recombination event, the selectable marker replaces an essential element of the target gene rendering it inactive. Other applications of gene targeting technology include gene replacement (knockins) and conditional vectors which allow for th...

the ple2scx vector was developed for the stable expression of exogenous genes in the protozoan parasite leishmania. the ple2scx construct contains three independent selection markers: herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (hsv-tk), cytosine deaminase (cd) and streptothericin acetyltransferase gene (sat) in multiple cloning site, flanking by 5’ and 3’ untranslated regions of the previously clone...

BACKGROUND Gene disruption by targeted integration of transfected constructs becomes increasingly popular for studies of gene function. The chicken B cell line DT40 has been widely used as a model for gene knock-outs due to its high targeted integration activity. Disruption of multiple genes and complementation of the phenotypes is, however, restricted by the number of available selectable mark...

The worldwide Health Promoting Hospital and Health Services (HPH) network was initiated by the World Health Organizations in the late 1980s. The goal of the network is to change the focus of health services from curing patients to also embrace disease prevention and health promotion. In Sweden the network started in 1996, and involves mainly hospitals and primary care. The network members colla...

Genetic studies in Borrelia burgdorferi have been hindered by the lack of a nonborrelial selectable marker. Currently, the only selectable marker is gyrB(r), a mutated form of the chromosomal gyrB gene that encodes the B subunit of DNA gyrase and confers resistance to the antibiotic coumermycin A(1). The utility of the coumermycin-resistant gyrB(r) gene for targeted gene disruption is limited b...

Decreased levels of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), an absolute cofactor for nitric oxide synthase (NOS), lead to uncoupling of NOS into a superoxide v. nitric oxide producing enzyme, and it is this uncoupling that links it to the development of vascular disease. However, the effects of in vivo deficiency of BH4 on neointimal formation after vascular injury have not been previously investigated. Hph...

AIMS Asiaticoside (AS) is a saponin monomer extracted from the medicinal plant Centella asiatica, which has a variety of biological effects. We intended to investigate the effects of asiaticoside on a hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (HPH) rat model and examine the possible effects of asiaticoside on TGF-β1/Smad signaling in vivo and in vitro. MAIN METHODS The rat HPH model was establis...

In this study, an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method was developed forpomegranate (Punica granatum L.), a difficult-to-transform plant. In vitro shoot segments wereinoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring the binary vectorpBI121 carrying the neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII) gene as a selectable marker and β-glucuronidase (gus) gene as a reporter....

The pathogenesis of infections caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the causative agent of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, can be studied using experimental infection of human male volunteers. The desire to avoid introducing new antibiotic resistance markers into strains to be used in human experimental infection has complicated the construction of genetically defined mutants in which e...