Abstract
The development of non-viral gene-transfer technologies that can support stable chromosomal integration and persistent gene expression in vivo is desirable. Here we describe the successful use of transposon technology for the nonhomologous insertion of foreign genes into the genomes of adult mammals using naked DNA. We show that the Sleeping Beauty transposase can efficiently insert transposon DNA into the mouse genome in approximately 5–6% of transfected mouse liver cells. Chromosomal transposition resulted in long-term expression (>5 months) of human blood coagulation factor IX at levels that were therapeutic in a mouse model of haemophilia B. Our results establish DNA-mediated transposition as a new genetic tool for mammals, and provide new strategies to improve existing non-viral and viral vectors for human gene therapy applications.
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Acknowledgements
We thank H. Nakai and K. Ohashi for their advice and technical assistance, and A. McCaffrey for critical reading of this manuscript. This work was supported by NIH grant DK49022 (M.A.K.). S.R.Y was the recipient of a PHS NRS award T32 GM07270 from NIGMS.
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Yant, S., Meuse, L., Chiu, W. et al. Somatic integration and long-term transgene expression in normal and haemophilic mice using a DNA transposon system. Nat Genet 25, 35–41 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/75568
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/75568
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