The invention provides a method of modulating electrophysiological activity of an excitable cell. The method involves causing exogenous expression of a glycine receptor (GlyR) protein in an excitable cell of a subject. Thereafter, the excitable cell is exposed to an allosteric modulator of the GlyR protein. Modulation of the exogenous GlyR protein (an ion channel) in response to the allosteric modulator modulates the electrophysiological activity of the excitable cell. The method can be used to control pain in a subject. The invention further provides a replication-defective HSV vector comprising an expression cassette encoding a GlyR protein, stocks and pharmaceutical compositions containing such vectors, and a transgenic animal.

The invention relates to expression of the transcription factor Myc and/or pTEF-b and their use as medicaments for inducing proliferation in cells with limited proliferative potential, such as cardiomyocytes. Also described are methods for the prevention and treatment of diseases, such as heart disease, associated with the loss of cells or cell death.

Nucleic acid constructs and methods for rendering modifications to a genome are provided, wherein the modifications comprise null alleles, conditional alleles and null alleles comprising COINs. Multifunctional alleles (MFA) are provided, as well as methods for making them, which afford the ability in a single targeting to introduce an allele that can be used to generate a null allele, a conditional allele, or an allele that is a null allele and that further includes a COIN. MFAs comprise pairs of cognate recombinase recognition sites, an actuating sequence and/or a drug selection cassette, and a nucleotide sequence of interest, and a COIN, wherein upon action of a recombinase a conditional allele with a COIN is formed. In a further embodiment, action of a second recombinase forms an allele that contains only a COIN in sense orientation. In a further embodiment, action by a third recombinase forms an allele that contains only the actuating sequence in sense orientation.

The present inventors report here, in the DFNB9 mouse model (OTOF knock-out mice), the first proof-of-principle that cochlear delivery of a fragmented cDNA via a dual-AAV vector approach can effectively and long-lastingly correct the profound deafness phenotype of these mice when administered well after their auditory system has matured (P30). The present invention therefore concerns a vector system that allows the expression of the full-length Otoferlin polypeptide, or of a functional fragment thereof, in inner hair cells, for use for treating patients suffering from DFNB9 deafness or preventing DFNB9 deafness in patients having DFNB9 mutations, wherein said patients are patients having a developed and mature auditory system, such as new born babies, toddlers, infants, teenagers or adults.

Disclosed herein transgene construct comprising (i) a first nucleotide sequence, wherein the activity of the protein encoded by said first nucleotide sequence causes death of germ cells in the presence of an exogenous induction agent and (ii) a second nucleotide sequence which targets said construct to avian germ cells, methods of using the same and a transgenic avian provided by such methods.

Provided are a transgenic non-human mammal expressing a fusion protein, wherein the fusion protein comprises an ε subunit of an ATP synthase and two distinct fluorescent proteins as a donor and an acceptor for FRET, one of the fluorescent proteins being placed at an amino terminal moiety of the ε subunit and the other being placed at a carboxyl terminal moiety of the ε subunit, and a method of screening for an agent for preventing or treating diseases in a mammal in need thereof, comprising using an above transgenic non-human mammal.

Four zebrafish gene promoters, which are skin specific, muscle specific, skeletal muscle specific and ubiquitously expressed respectively, were isolated and ligated to the 5′ end of the EGFP gene. When the resulting chimeric gene constructs were introduced into zebrafish, the transgenic zebrafish emit green fluorescence under a blue light or ultraviolet light according to the specificity of the promoters used. Thus, new varieties of ornamental fish of different fluorescence patterns, e.g., skin fluorescence, muscle fluorescence, skeletal muscle-specific and/or ubiquitous fluorescence, are developed.

Methods for modifying a genome are provided, wherein the modifications comprise null alleles, conditional alleles and null alleles comprising conditional by inversion elements. Methods are provided which afford the ability in a single targeting step to introduce an allele that can be used to generate a null allele, a conditional allele, or an allele that is a null allele and that further includes a conditional by inversion element. Introduced alleles comprise pairs of cognate recombinase recognition sites, an actuating sequence and/or a drug selection cassette, and a nucleotide sequence of interest, and a conditional by inversion element, wherein upon action of a recombinase a conditional allele with a conditional by inversion element is formed. In a further embodiment, action of a second recombinase forms an allele that contains only a conditional by inversion element in sense orientation. In a further embodiment, action by a third recombinase forms an allele that contains only the actuating sequence in sense orientation.

Artificial expression constructs for selectively modulating gene expression in selected central nervous system cell types are described. The artificial expression constructs can be used to selectively express synthetic genes or modify gene expression in GABAergic neurons generally; and/or GABAergic neuron cell types such as lysosomal associated membrane protein 5 (Lamp5) neurons; vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-expressing (Vip) neurons; somatostatin (Sst) neurons; and/or parvalbumin (Pvalb) neuron cell types. Certain artificial expression constructs additionally drive selective gene expression in Layer 4 and/or layer 5 intratelencephalic (IT) neurons, deep cerebellar nuclear neurons or cerebellar Purkinje cells.

Non-human animals comprising a human or humanized IL-4 and/or IL-4Rα nucleic acid sequence are provided. Non-human animals that comprise a replacement of the endogenous IL-4 gene and/or IL-4Rα gene with a human IL-4 gene and/or IL-4Rα gene in whole or in part, and methods for making and using the non-human animals, are described. Non-human animals comprising a human or humanized IL-4 gene under control of non-human IL-4 regulatory elements is also provided, including non-human animals that have a replacement of non-human IL-4-encoding sequence with human IL-4-encoding sequence at an endogenous non-human IL-4 locus. Non-human animals comprising a human or humanized IL-4Rα gene under control of non-human IL-4Rα regulatory elements is also provided, including non-human animals that have a replacement of non-human IL-4Rα-encoding sequence with human or humanized IL-4Rα-encoding sequence at an endogenous non-human C IL-4Rα locus. Non-human animals comprising human or humanized IL-4 gene and/or IL-4Rα sequences, wherein the non-human animals are rodents, e.g., mice or rats, are provided.