Embryonic Lethality in Homozygous Human Her-2 Transgenic Mice Due to Disruption of the Pds5b Gene

PLoS One. 2015 Sep 3;10(9):e0136817. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136817. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

The development of antigen-targeted therapeutics is dependent on the preferential expression of tumor-associated antigens (TAA) at targetable levels on the tumor. Tumor-associated antigens can be generated de novo or can arise from altered expression of normal basal proteins, such as the up-regulation of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2/ErbB2). To properly assess the development of Her2 therapeutics in an immune tolerant model, we previously generated a transgenic mouse model in which expression of the human Her2 protein was present in both the brain and mammary tissue. This mouse model has facilitated the development of Her2 targeted therapies in a clinically relevant and suitable model. While heterozygous Her2+/- mice appear to develop in a similar manner to wild type mice (Her2-/-), it has proven difficult to generate homozygous Her2+/+ mice, potentially due to embryonic lethality. In this study, we performed whole genome sequencing to determine if the integration site of the Her2 transgene was responsible for this lethality. Indeed, we report that the Her2 transgene had integrated into the Pds5b (precocious dissociation of sisters) gene on chromosome 5, as a 162 copy concatemer. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that Her2+/+ mice, similar to Pds5b-/- mice, are embryonic lethal and confirm the necessity for Pds5b in embryonic development. This study confirms the value of whole genome sequencing in determining the integration site of transgenes to gain insight into associated phenotypes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Chromosome Mapping
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • Exons
  • Fetal Death
  • Genes, Lethal*
  • Genes, erbB-2*
  • Homozygote*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Phenotype
  • Transcription Factors / genetics*

Substances

  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • PDS5B protein, mouse
  • Transcription Factors

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the Cancer Council of Victoria, Australia (1066554) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia (1003667). MHK and PKD were supported by Senior Research Fellowships from the NHMRC. ATP was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Career Development Fellowship (1003856), an NHMRC Program Grant (1054618) and benefitted from support by the Victorian State Government Operational Infrastructure Support and Australian Government NHMRC Independent Research Institute Infrastructure Support Scheme. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.