B-lymphocyte targeting of gene expression in transgenic mice with the immunoglobulin heavychain enhancer

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Abstract
A hybrid gene containing rabbit β -globin structural sequences (−9 to $1650), and a chicken conalbumin gene promoter ($62 to −102) in the place of the β −globin promoter (upstream from −9), was inactive in 5 different transgenic mouse line. Adding the mouse immunoglobulin heavy-chain (IgH) enhancer to this construction specifically stimulated expression in B-cells. These results show that IgH enhancer is specifically active in B-cells. Expression of the hybrid gene was low compared to the endogenous immunoglobulin heavy and light-chain genes. Substituting the mouse immunoglobulin κ light-chain gene (Ig κ) promoter ($4 to −800) for the heterologous conalbumin promoter was not sufficient to restore gene expression to level of the endogenous genes. In addition to the reproducible B cell expression, we also found inheritable unexpected expression in certain tissues, which varied from line to line.