2001 Volume 129 Issue 5 Pages 795-801
The human DAF (CD55) gene was chosen as a representative molecule in a xenotransplantation study. The gene was synthesized in order to adapt its codons to those which are more frequent in mammals, especially pigs, and the expression levels were then examined in Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO) cells, swine endothelial cell (SEC) and transgenie mice. A significant increase in protein production with no detectable mRNA elevation was observed in the transfectants of synthetic DAY (sDAF), compared with the wild-type DAF (wtDAF) and delta-SCR1 wild-type DAF (Δ1wtDAF). Consistent with the in vitro data, the expression of DAF in mice that carry sDAF was higher than Δ1wtDAF in many organs, especially the pancreas. The sDAF showed a high level of expression in SEC and transgenic mice, suggesting that it will be useful in the development of transgenie pigs with high levels of expression.
