In vivo manipulation of foreign gene expression by steroid administration in the oviduct of laying hens

The experiments described herein were conducted to examine whether or not s teroid administration allows in vivo induction of foreign gene expression i n the oviduct of laying hens. The chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporte r gene driven by several viral and cellular promoters with or without stero id response elements was transfected by in vitro electroporation. The resul ts indicated that in vivo, as observed in vitro, steroid administration ind uced transcriptional activities of the promoters with steroid response elem ents but it did not do so without steroid response elements. Our data impli cate, therefore, that in vivo induction of foreign gene expression is possi ble in the oviduct of laying hens, and that the present in vivo gene transf er approach would serve as a useful tool to elucidate the mechanism of tiss ue-specific and steroid-induced transcription of chicken egg white genes.