Synapsin 1 (SYN1) is a phosphoprotein involved in nerve signal transmission. The porcine SYN1 promoter orthologue was cloned and characterized to provide a means of expressing a transgene specifically in neurons. The nucleotide sequence of the promoter displayed a high degree of conservation of elements responsible for neuron-specific expression. Expression analysis of SYN1 demonstrated presence of transcript during embryonic development. Analysis of GFP expression in transgenic zebrafish embryos suggests that the pig SYN1 promoter directs expression in neuronal cells. Thus, the SYN1 promoter is a good candidate for use in the generation of pig models of human neurodegenerative disorders.
Keywords: Ab, antibody; BSG, basal ganglia; BST, brain stem; CBE, cerebellum; CMV, cytomegalovirus; Chr, chromosome; FB, forebrain; FCO, frontal cortex; GFP; GFP, green fluorescent protein; HB, hindbrain; HIP, hippocampus; LLG, lateral line ganglion; MB, midbrain; NRSE, neuron restrictive silencer element; Neuron-specific promoter; OC, optic chiasm; ON, olfactory neuron; Pig; R, retina; REST, RE1-silencing transcription factor; TG, trigeminal ganglion; TSS, transcription start site; Transgenic; WPRE, Woodchuck hepatitits virus Post-transcriptional Regulatory Element; Zebrafish.