The cre-inducer doxycycline lowers cytokine and chemokine transcript levels in the gut of mice

TY - JOUR

T1 - The cre-inducer doxycycline lowers cytokine and chemokine transcript levels in the gut of mice

AU - Hansen, Axel Kornerup

AU - Malm, Sara Astrup

AU - Metzdorff, Stine B.

PY - 2017/11

Y1 - 2017/11

N2 - The antibiotic doxycycline is used as an inducer of recombinase (cre)-based conditional gene knockout in mice, which is a common tool to show the effect of disrupted gene functions only in one period of a research animal’s life. However, other types of such antibiotics have been shown to have a strong impact on the immune system. Here we show that in C57BL/6 mice, the most commonly applied strain for genetic modification, doxycycline treatment lowered transcription of the genes Il1b, Il10, Il18, Tnf, Cxcl1, and Cxcl2 in the ileum, and of the gene Il18 in colon. Cytokines and chemokines encoded by these genes are important in the disease expression in a range of mouse models. Although protein abundances only rarely correlate 100% to transcript levels, and the net result, therefore, may be less dramatic, it seems reasonable to be aware that a broad spectrum antibiotic, such as doxycycline, may impact the transgenic animal in ways unrelated to the activation of the gene deletion.

AB - The antibiotic doxycycline is used as an inducer of recombinase (cre)-based conditional gene knockout in mice, which is a common tool to show the effect of disrupted gene functions only in one period of a research animal’s life. However, other types of such antibiotics have been shown to have a strong impact on the immune system. Here we show that in C57BL/6 mice, the most commonly applied strain for genetic modification, doxycycline treatment lowered transcription of the genes Il1b, Il10, Il18, Tnf, Cxcl1, and Cxcl2 in the ileum, and of the gene Il18 in colon. Cytokines and chemokines encoded by these genes are important in the disease expression in a range of mouse models. Although protein abundances only rarely correlate 100% to transcript levels, and the net result, therefore, may be less dramatic, it seems reasonable to be aware that a broad spectrum antibiotic, such as doxycycline, may impact the transgenic animal in ways unrelated to the activation of the gene deletion.

KW - Chemokines

KW - Cytokines

KW - Doxycycline

KW - Gene knockout techniques

KW - Mice

U2 - 10.1007/s13353-017-0401-x

DO - 10.1007/s13353-017-0401-x

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 28624900

AN - SCOPUS:85020538620

SN - 1234-1983

VL - 58

SP - 535

EP - 538

JO - Journal of Applied Genetics

JF - Journal of Applied Genetics

IS - 4

ER -