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Dramatic growth of mice that develop from eggs microinjected with metallothionein–growth hormone fusion genes

Nature volume 300, pages 611–615 (1982)Cite this article

Abstract

A DNA fragment containing the promoter of the mouse metallothionein-I gene fused to the structural gene of rat growth hormone was microinjected into the pronuclei of fertilized mouse eggs. Of 21 mice that developed from these eggs, seven carried the fusion gene and six of these grew significantly larger than their littermates. Several of these transgenic mice had extraordinarily high levels of the fusion mRNA in their liver and growth hormone in their serum. This approach has implications for studying the biological effects of growth hormone, as a way to accelerate animal growth, as a model for gigantism, as a means of correcting genetic disease, and as a method of farming valuable gene products.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA

    Richard D. Palmiter

  2. Laboratory of Reproductive Physiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, USA

    Ralph L. Brinster, Robert E. Hammer & Myrna E. Trumbauer

  3. School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA

    Michael G. Rosenfeld

  4. Tumor Virology Laboratory, The Salk Institute, San Diego, California, 92138, USA

    Neal C. Birnberg & Ronald M. Evans

Authors
  1. Richard D. Palmiter
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  2. Ralph L. Brinster
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  3. Robert E. Hammer
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  4. Myrna E. Trumbauer
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  5. Michael G. Rosenfeld
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  6. Neal C. Birnberg
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  7. Ronald M. Evans
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Palmiter, R., Brinster, R., Hammer, R. et al. Dramatic growth of mice that develop from eggs microinjected with metallothionein–growth hormone fusion genes. Nature 300, 611–615 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/300611a0

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