A reporter construct expressing a secretable and excretable reporter protein

摘要

A nucleic acid construct comprising a reporter gene encoding a reporter protein that is secretable as a protein, or product, from a cell where it is expressed or produced, and that is excretable from a whole animal. Preferred embodiments of the reported gene are secreted alkaline phosphatase (SEAP), human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), feline urinary carboxylase or Bence Jones protein. Preferred promoters include the stratifin or CypA1 promoters. The reporter protein may be a fusion protein comprising an epitope tag eg c-myc. The construct may be transfected into cell lines, or used to make transgenic non-human animals, which may be used in screening methods to investigate the effects of various factors upon gene expression. The excretable nature of the reporter protein facilitates non-invasive monitoring of its expression via milk, urine etc.