Effective adenovirus-mediated gene expression in adult murine skeletal muscle.

We established an efficient method for obtaining expression of a foreign marker gene transferred in vitro into myoblasts and in vivo into adult mouse skeletal muscles using adenovirus vector. After infection of the C2 myoblasts with the adenovirus vector containing the beta-actin promoter with cytomegalovirus (CMV) enhancer (CAG promoter) AxCALacZ, significantly greater number of cells express beta-galactosidase when compared with the adenovirus vector expressing the lacZ gene under the control of the SR alpha viral terminal repeat promoter (AxSRLacZL) or the myosin heavy chain (MHC) IIB promoter (AxMHCLacZ). We also injected AxCALacZ into the skeletal muscles of 5- to 6-week-old C57BL/10 mice and determined that more than 60% of their muscle fibers expressed the lacZ gene 7 days after injection. The CAG promoter may have application in the development of gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) using adenovirus vector.