Establishment of transgenic mice carrying the gene for farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase.

Farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase (FPPS) is an essential enzyme in the mevalonate pathway and might be relevant to hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. FPPS transgenic mice were produced by microinjecting a construct with the FPPS gene into fertilized eggs derived from an inbred C57BL/6 strain. Three mice were identified as carrying copies of the transgene using the PCR. Reverse transcription PCR and Western blotting showed that the transgene was expressed in heart, liver, lung, ear, brain, thymus, and blood vessels in the transgenic mouse. Pathological analysis (hematoxylin and eosin staining) showed that FPPS expression did not cause obvious pathological changes in multiple tissues of 6-week-old transgenic mice. This FPPS transgenic mouse model, may therefore, facilitate the investigation of the biological functions of FPPS in vivo.