Establishment and characterization of transgenic mice expressing human platelet glycoprotein Ibα

The platelet glycoprotein (GP) Ib/IX/V is a hetero-oligomeric receptor complex for von Willebrand factor (VWF) and mediates platelet adhesion and aggregation under high shear stress conditions. It is composed of α and β chain of GP Ib, GP IX, AND and GP V. To establish transgenic mice carrying human GP Ibα, we injected into mouse zygotes a 6 kb DNA fragment containing human GP Ibα gene that included entire coding sequence and putative promoter region. One hundred and thirteen offsprings were screened, and only one was found to express human GP Ibα protein and has passed the human GP Ibα gene as well as the expression of the gene to next generation. The expression of human GP Ibα in transgenic mice was limited to platelets and megakaryocytes. Glycocalicin, a proteolytic fragment of human GP Ibα found in normal human plasma, was not detected in transgenic mouse plasma. Human VWF in the presence of ristocetin supported agglutination of transgenic mouse platelets, but not of control mouse platelets.