STOCK Tg(ACTA1-Atf6)3Jmol/J

Stock number: 036160
Product name: Ska-ATF6α-Tg, ATF6α-Tg
Research areas: Neurobiology Research

Description

ATF6α-Tg mice express full-length mouse Atf6 (activating transcription factor 6; also called Atf6a) cDNA from the human ACTA1 (actin, alpha 1, skeletal muscle) promoter in skeletal muscle. This strain is useful in studies of muscle degenerative diseases such as muscular dystrophy (MD).

Detailed description

ATF6 (activating transcription factor 6) resides in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane where it acts as a stress response mediator, initiating a cascade of signaling that alters protein synthesis. THBS4 (thrombospondin 4), a critical cardioprotective protein functioning from within the ER, binds directly with the ER luminal domain of ATF6 to promote its shuttling to the Golgi and then nucleus, thereby inducing genes underlying adaptive aspects of ER stress responses.

ATF6α-Tg mice express full-length mouse Atf6 cDNA from the human ACTA1 (actin, alpha 1, skeletal muscle) promoter in skeletal muscle. While these mice do not display an overt baseline phenotype, skeletal muscle-specific overexpression of mouse ATF6α induces an adaptive unfolded protein response associated with expansion of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and post-ER vesicular compartment in the myofiber for greater capacity.

Development

A transgenic vector incorporating a modified human ACTA1 (also called skeletal α-actin, Ska, or human skeletal actin (HSA)) promoter driving expression of full-length mouse Atf6 cDNA was introduced to FVB/N embryos. The modified promoter incorporates 2 kb of 5' flanking sequence, 90 bases of 5'-UTR, and 149 bases of IVS1 (intervening sequence 1) from the human ACTA1 gene. Resultant mice were maintained on the FVB/N genetic background by the donating laboratory (see SNP note below). This is founder line 3. The integration site and copy number of the transgene are not known (February, 2021).

In 2021, a 48 SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) panel analysis, with 43 markers covering all 19 chromosomes and the X chromosome, as well as 5 markers that distinguish between the C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N substrains, was performed on the males sent to The Jackson Laboratory Repository. Two of the 43 markers throughout the genome were segregating with an unknown source, on Chromosome 1 and the X Chromosome.

Allele

Symbol: Tg(ACTA1-Atf6)3Jmol
Name: transgene insertion 3, Jeffery Molkentin
MGI accession ID: MGI:6505473
Generation method: Transgenic
Attributes: Inserted expressed sequence
Synonyms: ATF6alpha Tg
Marker symbol: Tg(ACTA1-Atf6)3Jmol
Marker name: transgene insertion 3, Jeffery Molkentin
Chromosome: UN
Strain of origin: FVB/N
Molecular note: The transgenic vector contains a modified human ACTA1 promoter driving expression of full-length mouse Atf6 cDNA. The modified promoter incorporates 2 kb of 5' flanking sequence, 90 bases of 5'-UTR, and 149 bases of IVS1 (intervening sequence 1) from the human ACTA1 gene. This is founder line 3.