Abstract
The mouse Mx1 gene encodes an interferon(IFN)-inducible nuclear protein and confers resistanceto influenza virus infection. The standard laboratorymouse strains all carry the Mx1- allele andare susceptible to influenza virus. In this study, severalmouse strains established from wild mice were tested todetermine their Mx1+ or Mx1-allele status with polymerase chain reaction-restrictionfragment length variation (PCR-RFLV), sequence analysis, reversetranscription (RT)-PCR, and immunofluorescence staining.All of the mouse strains originating from wild mice werefound uniformly to carry the Mx1+ allele.Therefore, it is conceivable that the Mx1+allele in wild populations serves a function againstsome pathogens related to orthomyxoviruses. The PCR-RFLVand sequence analysis allowed us to classify theMx1+ alleles of the laboratory and wild-origin mouse strainsinto distinct classes. RT-PCR and immunofluorescencestaining demonstrated that the Mx1 transcripts andproteins were induced by IFN-alpha/beta in macrophages from wild mouse species.
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Jin, H.K., Yamashita, T., Ochiai, K. et al. Characterization and Expression of the Mx1 Gene in Wild Mouse Species. Biochem Genet 36, 311–322 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018741312058
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018741312058