| Abstract: | AIM:To construct the lentiviral vectors with green fluorescent protein(GFP) and luciferase(Luc) reporter genes driven by human myosine light chain 2v gene promoter(pMLC2v) and to investigate their expression in human cardiomyocyte(HCM) cell line and human lung cancer cell line A549. METHODS:Human pMLC2v-specific lentiviral vectors with GFP(pMLC2v-GFP) or Luc(pMLC2v-Luc) were constructed and transfected into HCM and A549 cell lines. The expression characteristics of the reporter genes were observed by confocal fluorescent microscopy and bioluminescence detection. Common(nonspecific) promoter-driven GFP(GFPC) or red fluorescent protein(RFPC) lentiviral vectors were used as controls. RESULTS:Both cell lines expressed GFP and RFP 3 days after transfected with the nonspecific vectors. HCM specifically expressed GFP and Luc 3 weeks after transfected with the pMLC2v-GFP or pMLC2v-Luc vectors. However, A549 cells didn't show the similar expression pattern. CONCLUSION:The pMLC2v-GFP and pMLC2v-Luc lentiviral vectors are specific for newly proliferative cardiomyocytes, indicating that they can be used as reliable tools for tracking the differentiation of stem cells into cardiomyocytes in vivo. |
