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Most transgenic technologies rely on the oocyte as a substrate for genetic modification. Transgenics animals are usually generated by the injection of the gene constructs (including lentiviruses encoding gene constructs or modified embryonic stem cells) into the pronucleus of a fertilized egg followed by the transfer of the injected embryos into the uterus of a foster mother. Male germ cells also have potential as templates for transgenic development. We have previously shown that mature sperm can be utilized as template for lentiviral transduction and as such used to generate transgenic mice efficiently with germ line capabilities. We provide here a detailed protocol that is relatively simple, to establish transgenic mice using lentivirally transduced spermatozoa. This protocol employs a well-established lentiviral gene delivery system (usual for somatic cells) delivering a variety of transgenes to be directly used with sperm, and the subsequent use of these modified sperm in in vitro fertilization studies and embryo transfer into foster female mice, for the establishment of transgenic mice.

Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is a heterogeneous bone marrow failure disorder with known mutations in components of telomerase and telomere shelterin. Recent work in a mouse model with a dyskerin mutation has implicated an increased DNA damage response as part of the cellular pathology, while mouse models with Terc and Tert mutations displayed a normal response. To clarify how these contradictory results might apply to DC pathology in humans, we studied the cellular phenotype in primary cells from DC patients of several genetic subtypes, focussing on T lymphocytes to remain close to the haematopoietic system. We observed novel cell cycle abnormalities in conjunction with impaired growth and an increase in apoptosis. Using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy we examined induction of the DNA damage proteins γ-H2AX and 53BP1 and the cell cycle protein TP53 (p53). We found an increase in damage foci at telomeres in lymphocytes and an increase in the basal level of DNA damage in fibroblasts, but crucially no increased response to DNA damaging agents in either cell type. As the response to induced DNA damage was normal and levels of global DNA damage were inconsistent between cell types, DNA damage may contribute differently to the pathology in different tissues.