The effect of hFVIII transgene on the chromosomal aneuploidy rate in rabbits

The aim of this study was to compare the chromosomal aneuploidy rate between transgenic and non-transgenic rabbits derived from the F4 generation. Chromosomal analysis was carried out on bone marrow samples of New Zealand White transgenic (carrying human factor VIII gene) and non-transgenic rabbits (F4 generation) each having a different genetic background (female no. 1-3-5 line I and female no. 1-9-7 line II). C-metaphase plates were obtained from the bone marrow lymphocytes synchronized by the addition of 0.25 microg/ml colcemide. No significant difference in chromosomal aneuploidy between transgenic (61%) and non-transgenic (51.27%) rabbits of line I was observed. A higher but non-significant aneuploidy rate between transgenic and non-transgenic rabbits was found in line II, on the other hand a significant difference (P<0.05) was observed in diploidy rate. In conclusion, chromosomal aneuploidy rates in this experiment were higher than published previously in other reports.