PiggyBac transposon mutagenesis: A tool for cancer gene discovery in mice

Roland Rad, Lena Rad, Wei Wang, Juan Cadinanos, George Vassiliou, Stephen Rice, Lia S. Campos, Kosuke Yusa, Ruby Banerjee, Meng Amy Li, Jorge De La Rosa, Alexander Strong, Dong Lu, Peter Ellis, Nathalie Conte, Fang Tang Yang, Pentao Liu, Allan Bradley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

204 Scopus citations

Abstract

Transposons are mobile DNA segments that can disrupt gene function by inserting in or near genes. Here, we show that insertional mutagenesis by the PiggyBac transposon can be used for cancer gene discovery in mice. PiggyBac transposition in genetically engineered transposon-transposase mice induced cancers whose type (hematopoietic versus solid) and latency were dependent on the regulatory elements introduced into transposons. Analysis of 63 hematopoietic tumors revealed that PiggyBac is capable of genome-wide mutagenesis. The PiggyBac screen uncovered many cancer genes not identified in previous retroviral or Sleeping Beauty transposon screens, including Spic, which encodes a PU.1-related transcription factor, and Hdac7, a histone deacetylase gene. PiggyBac and Sleeping Beauty have different integration preferences. Tomaximize the utility of the tool, we engineered 21 mouse lines to be compatible with both transposon systems in constitutive, tissue- or temporal-specific mutagenesis. Mice with different transposon types, copy numbers, and chromosomal locations support wide applicability.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1104-1107
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume330
Issue number6007
DOIs
StatePublished - 19 Nov 2010
Externally publishedYes

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