In vivo gene transfer into skeletal muscle of neonatal chicks by electroporation |
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Authors: | Daichi IJIRI Akito SAEGUSA Tomoko MATSUBARA Yukio KANAI Miho HIRABAYASHI |
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Institution: | 1. Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba;2. Faculty of Pharmacy, Yasuda Women's University, Hiroshima, Japan |
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Abstract: | Chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) show considerable growth of skeletal muscle during the neonatal period. The in vivo gene transfer method is useful for studying gene function and can be employed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of skeletal muscle growth in chicks. We evaluated the following conditions for gene transfer to the skeletal muscle of neonatal chicks by electroporation: (i) voltage; (ii) age of the chick; (iii) plasmid DNA injected amount; and (iv) duration of gene expression. The results obtained from this study indicate that the most efficient gene transfer condition was as follows: 75 µg of plasmid DNA encoding β‐galactosidase was injected into the gastrocnemius muscle of chicks at 4 days of age electroporated at 50 V/cm. In addition, peak transferred gene expression was observed from 3 days to 5 days after electroporation. Our results provide optimal electroporation conditions for elucidating the gene function related to skeletal muscle growth and development in neonatal chicks. |
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Keywords: | chick electroporation gene transfer muscle development muscle growth |
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