Rapid generation of dendritic cell specific transgenic mice by lentiviral vectors

Dendritic cell (DC) specific transgenic mice are a most important model for investigating dendritic cell functions in vivo. Recently, lentivirus mediated gene transfer has become a powerful and convenient method for generation of transgenic mice. We cloned a 1.2 kb CD11c promoter and constructed a lentiviral vector, which efficiently drove DC-specific expression in vitro. After microinjection of purified virus into the perivitelline space of single-cell embryo, more than 80% newborn mice were transgenic and 7 F0 founders were rapidly generated in 2 months. GFP was strictly expressed in CD11c+ cells in spleens, thymus and lymph nodes of the transgenic mice. Importantly, the physiological characteristics and functions of DCs in the transgenic mice were not altered by the specific expression. These results indicate that this vector could be used to rapidly prepare DC-specific transgenic mice. Thus, this lentiviral vector system may provide a convenient and useful tool to study the properties of DCs in vivo.