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Autoradiography with 3H-labeled phorbol dibutyrate was used for the light microscopic detection of phorbol ester receptors in rat fetuses. In 15- and 18-day fetuses, as well as in adult rats, receptors were found to be concentrated in the central nervous system. The localization of receptors in the ventral marginal zone of the fetal neural tube, the lens of the eye, and other sites suggests a role for phorbol ester receptors in cellular process extension and cell-cell interaction.

Multipotential mouse teratocarcinoma cells in embryoid bodies were explanted on plastic or collagen substrates. Various modes of cell determination, including myogenesis, occurred. The predominant avenue of differentiation soon became myogenesis: many multinucleated myotubes formed and yielded an extensive network of skeletal muscle fibers. The process does not proceed to normal completion, as the fibers have a paucity of striations and are not contractile. Activities of several enzymes ordinarily associated with muscle differentiation were examined. Acetylcholinesterase activity increases, especially during myotube formation, as in normal myogenesis. However, creatine kinase activity rises during myotube formation and then drops abnormally, and myokinase activity fails to increase appreciably. The fetal isozymic form of creatine kinase is expressed in the cultures, although well differentiated solid tumors taken from mice show attainment of the adult muscle isozyme type if skeletal muscle is demonstrably present. The results are consistent with the interpretation that coordinately regulated changes in gene expressions controlling these functions may be required for later stages of myogenesis.

Erythropoietin is a glycoprotein hormone that regulates mammalian erythropoiesis. To study the expression of the human erythropoietin gene, EPO, 4 kilobases of DNA encompassing the gene with 0.4 kilobase of 5' flanking sequence and 0.7 kilobase of 3' flanking sequence was microinjected into fertilized mouse eggs. Transgenic mice were generated that are polycythemic, with increased erythrocytic indices in peripheral blood, increased numbers of erythroid precursors in hematopoietic tissue, and increased serum erythropoietin levels. Transgenic homozygotes show a greater degree of polycythemia than do heterozygotes as well as striking extramedullary erythropoiesis. Human erythropoietin RNA was found not only in fetal liver, adult liver, and kidney but also in all other transgenic tissues analyzed. Anemia induced increased human erythropoietin RNA levels in liver but not kidney. These transgenic mice represent a unique model of polycythemia due to increased erythropoietin levels.

The Trisomy 16 (Ts16) mouse has been proposed as a model for Down Syndrome (DS) in humans, based on genetic homology between mouse chromosome 16 (MMU 16) and human chromosome 21 (HSA 21). Translocations of HSA 21 resulting in trisomy for only a portion of the genetic information contained on this chromosome can result in a DS phenotype. Thus, these translocations help to define a "DS region" of the chromosome. A number of genes from this DS region of HSA 21 have been mapped to MMU 16. Techniques for localizing genes on chromosomes have been used to identify the portion of MMU 16 which corresponds to the DS region of HSA 21. This region appears to be highly conserved between mouse and human, providing further support for a mouse model of DS.

Two lines of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transgenic mice, designated G7 and G26, show preferential expression of the 2.1-kilobase hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) RNA transcript in liver and kidney tissues (R. D. Burk, J. A. DeLoia, M. K. ElAwady, and J. D. Gearhart, J. Virol 62:649-654, 1988). This transcript was first identified in transgenic mice at gestational day 14 and was detected at similar or increased levels through birth and early development. However, in contrast to 2.1-kilobase HBsAg mRNA levels, HBsAg protein levels in serum decreased shortly after birth. Thereafter, serum HBsAg increased 100-fold to adult levels, with a corresponding 5- to 10-fold increase in HBsAg mRNA levels. In addition, adult males have higher levels of HBsAg in serum than females. HBsAg in serum in males was reduced approximately 50% by surgical castration and was restored to near-normal levels by testosterone supplementation. Since both transgenic lines show similar patterns of gene expression, we suggest that HBsAg gene expression is determined by viral regulatory elements in response to host factors. Whether tissue specificity, developmental regulation, and sexual dimorphism of expression of the exogenous HBV sequences were determined by single or multiple HBV regulatory elements remains to be determined.

Recently, the gene encoding the cerebrovascular and neuritic plaque amyloid, a pathologic stigma of Alzheimer's disease (AD), has been molecularly cloned and mapped to human chromosome 21, band q21. Changes in the brains of individuals with trisomy 21 (Down syndrome, DS) over 35 years of age closely resemble AD neuropathology. Genetic homology which exists between human chromosome 21 (HSA 21) and mouse chromosome 16 (MMU 16) has led to the use of mice with trisomy 16 as a model system for studies relevant to DS. Mice with Ts16 exhibit numerous developmental abnormalities that can be correlated with features observed in DS, including neurochemical and neuroanatomic alterations. In this study, we show that the genetic homology between HSA 21 and MMU 16 extends to the gene encoding the amyloid peptide. The homologous mouse gene, designated Cvap, for cerebrovascular amyloid peptide, is localized on MMU 16 band C3----ter, and is in close proximity to both superoxide dismutase-1 (Sod-1), and the protooncogene, Ets-2, two of the genes known to localize to the DS region of HSA 21. Linkage of these genes has been maintained since the divergence of the common ancestor of mouse and man, despite a chromosomal rearrangement which has changed the gene order between the two species. These findings expand the region of HSA 21 with known homology to MMU 16, and provide a genetic basis to suggest that studies of the trisomy 16 mouse, in addition to being relevant to DS, may also clarify the role of abnormal gene expression in AD.

Trisomy of the whole or distal part of human chromosome 21 (HSA 21) (Ts21) results in Down Syndrome (DS), which is characterized in part by mental retardation and associated neurological abnormalities. Structural abnormalities observed frequently include reduced brain weight, decreased number and depth of sulci in the cerebral cortices, neuronal heterotopias, and reduced numbers of specific populations of neurons, such as granule cells, in the cerebral cortices. Abnormalities in the structure of cells, primarily of the dendrites, are observed in portions of the neuraxis, such as the hippocampus, cerebellum, and cerebral cortices. Functional abnormalities in membrane properties in peripheral structures and in neurotransmitter enzyme systems in both peripheral and central structures are observed also. Brains of DS individuals over the age of 40 exhibit the characteristic neuropathologic and neurochemical stigmata of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The cholinergic and noradrenergic systems appear to be particularly vulnerable. To elucidate the mechanisms responsible for these abnormalities, identification of the genes located in the distal part of HSA 21 and the systematic study of animal model systems with close genetic homology are essential.

In this study, we examined the neurochemical profiles of selected brain regions (cerebral hemispheres, diencephalon/brainstem) in fetal (day 14 to 18 gestation) trisomy 19 (Ts19) mice. The neurochemical characteristics we observed in Ts19 mice were quite different from those we observed previously in Ts16 mice. Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity was reduced significantly in the cerebral hemispheres, but not in the brainstem/diencephalon, of the fetal Ts19 mouse brain, suggesting a selective vulnerability of telencephalic cholinergic neurons. Additionally, the activity of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) was reduced significantly in both hemispheres and diencephalon/brainstem of late gestation Ts19 fetuses, suggesting a selective vulnerability of GABAergic neurons as well. While the levels of catecholaminergic and dopaminergic markers were reduced significantly at late gestational ages, the relative rate of turnover of dopamine (DA), measured by the ratio of DOPAC/DA, was elevated significantly in Ts19 mice. Neither reduction in the thickness of various cellular zones of the cerebral cortex nor reduced cell density of the cerebral cortex accounts for the alterations in neurochemical parameters observed in Ts19 mice. These results suggest that the effects of the triplication of specific genes on the respective chromosomes, rather than a generalized disruption of developmental homeostasis resulting from extra chromosomal material, may produce selective alterations in neurochemical and neuroanatomical markers observed in these two mouse trisomies.

We are investigating human insulin gene expression in transgenic mice. An 8.8 kilobase (kb) human genomic DNA fragment, including the insulin gene (1.4 kb) and 2 kb of 5' human flanking sequences, was introduced into mouse embryos by pronuclear microinjection. Two lines of transgenic mice have been established, both of which carry the intact human gene in multiple copies. Animals from both lines have significantly higher insulin levels than control mice, and the degree of hyperinsulinemia shows a positive correlation with human gene copy number in the two lines. Expression of the human gene is confirmed by the detection of human C-peptide in plasma. Tissue specificity of expression is maintained, with human insulin mRNA detectable only in the pancreas. The transgenics maintain normal fasting blood glucose in spite of their high insulin levels, but preliminary studies show them to be glucose intolerant when given a glucose load. These mice provide a model system for further studies on the regulation of insulin gene expression and on the effects of chronic hyperinsulinemia on glucose homeostasis.

A total of 318 progeny from four backcrosses involving different laboratory strains and subspecies of Mus musculus were analyzed to map the Mx gene to the region of mouse chromosome 16 (MMU 16) which is homologous to human chromosome 21 (HSA 21). This result suggests that Mx will be found in the region of HSA 21 which has been implicated in Down syndrome when inherited in three copies.

The objective of this research was to determine whether there is intercellular suppression of position-effect variegation by extra-heterochromatin during cell differentiation (pupation) in Drosophila melanogaster. The results provide some indication as to the mechanism and timing for the general suppression of position-effect variegation by supernumerary heterochromatin in the genome. Imaginal discs were excised from larvae having the necessary chromosomal rearrangement required for position-effect variegation and were transplanted into larvae with and without additional Y chromosomes in their genomes. After metamorphosis, the explants were examined to determine the effect of their respective hosts. There were no differences in the extent of variegation between eyes transplanted into hosts carrying different amounts of extra-heterochromatin. Thus, extra-heterochromatin position-effect variegation does not suppress during cell differentiation or, if it does, the action is intracellular.