The intron 5/6 promoter region of the ship1 gene regulates expression in stem/progenitor cells of the mouse embryo

• Published in: Developmental biology 2005-07, Vol.283 (2), p.503-521
• Main Authors: Rohrschneider, Larry R., Custodio, Joseph M., Anderson, Tamara A., Miller, Chris P., Gu, Hong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Blastocyst - metabolism; Cell Line; Embryo, Mammalian - cytology; Embryo, Mammalian - metabolism; Embryonic stem cells; Epidermis; Epidermis - cytology; Epidermis - metabolism; Epithelial Cells - metabolism; Female; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Germ Cells - metabolism; Green Fluorescent Proteins - genetics; Green Fluorescent Proteins - metabolism; Hair follicles; Inner cell mass (ICM); Inositol Polyphosphate 5-Phosphatases; Internal promoter; Introns; Male; Mammary buds; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred CBA; Mice, Transgenic; Organ Specificity; Phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-Trisphosphate 5-Phosphatases; Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases - genetics; Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases - metabolism; Primordial germ cells; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Prostate; s-SHIP; Stem Cells - metabolism; Transgenes; Transgenic mice
• ISSN: 0012-1606; 1095-564X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2005.04.032

The s-SHIP protein is a shorter isoform of the longer SHIP1 protein and lacks the N-terminal SH2 domain region contained in SHIP1. s-SHIP is expressed in ES cells and in enriched bone marrow stem cells, and may be controlled by a promoter within intron 5 of the ship1 gene. We therefore examined the potential specificity of promoter activity in ES cells of an intron 5/intron 6 ship1 genomic segment and its tissue specificity within transgenic mice expressing GFP from this promoter region. The results indicate that s-SHIP promoter activity is specific for ES cells in vitro and for known and presumptive stem/progenitor cells throughout embryo development of the transgenic mice. Specific GFP expression was observed in the blastocyst, primordial germ cells, thymus, arterioles, osteoblasts, and skin epidermis. The epidermis/epithelium is the progenitor for hair follicles, mammary tissue, and prostate. Interestingly, each of these latter tissues acquired a few GFP-positive cells in the course of their development from the epithelial layers, and these cells express marker proteins for stem/progenitor cells. These results identify potential stem cell populations, mark these cells for analyses in normal and cancer development, and implicate s-SHIP as an important protein in stem/progenitor cell function.