Transgenic mice expressing both human apolipoprotein B and human CETP have a lipoprotein cholesterol distribution similar to that of normolipidemic humans.

Transgenic mice expressing both human apolipoprotein (apo) B and human cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) have been developed. When fed a normal mouse chow diet, the apoB/CETP double transgenic animals had threefold higher serum CETP activity than humans and had human apoB levels that were similar to those of normolipidemic humans. When compared with nontransgenic mice, the total serum cholesterol levels in the female apoB/CETP transgenic animals were increased significantly. Serum HDL cholesterol levels were decreased significantly in both male and female apoB/CETP transgenic animals. The percentages of the total cholesterol within the HDL, LDL, and VLDL fractions of the apoB/CETP animals were approximately 30%, 65%, and 5%, respectively, similar to the distribution of cholesterol in the plasma of normolipidemic humans. Thus, by expressing both human apoB and human CETP, the lipoprotein cholesterol distribution in the serum of a chow-fed mouse was transformed into one that resembles a human profile.

Production of functional human hemoglobin in transgenic swine.

A construct containing the locus control region (LCR) from the human beta globin locus together with two copies of the human alpha 1 gene and a single copy of the human beta A gene was used to obtain three transgenic pigs. The transgenic pigs are healthy, not anemic, and grow at a rate comparable to non-transgenic littermates. All animals expressed the human genes. However, alpha globin was consistently expressed at higher levels than beta globin. Isolation of the human hemoglobin from both porcine hemoglobin and other non-hemoglobin proteins was accomplished by ion exchange chromatography. The purified porcine derived human hemoglobin exhibited an oxygen affinity similar to that of human derived human hemoglobin.