Authors : Huiming Ju, Lijing Bai, Yuefei Yang, Xing Jiang, Anzhi Sheng and Kui Li
Abstract: It has been widely acknowledged that introns can influence the efficiency of gene expression. Most transcriptional regulatory elements are located within non-coding DNA. The aim of the study was to study introns affecting porcine Growth Hormone (pGH) expression levels. A program was developed for mammalian cells (PK15 cells) by measuring the enhancement effect on GH expression of different introns inserted with otherwise identical plasmids. After selection with G418, quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) assays was performed to determine pGH mRNA expression levels. Western blotting was used to analyze pGH protein expression. The qPCR and Western blot results revealed that various introns have different effects on pGH expression efficiency. The recombinant pGH gene with introns 3 and 4 had the highest expression activity. In this study, researchers have provided the first insights into the function of pGH introns, establishing a foundation for the recognition and better utilization of these introns.
Huiming Ju, Lijing Bai, Yuefei Yang, Xing Jiang, Anzhi Sheng and Kui Li, 2013. Effects of Introns on the Regulation of Porcine Growth Hormone Expression. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 12: 892-896.