Quorum-sensing-based toolbox for regulatable transgene and siRNA expression in mammalian cells

Technologies for regulated expression of multiple transgenes in mammalian cells have gathered momentum for bioengineering, gene therapy, drug discovery, and gene-function analyses. Capitalizing on recently developed mammalian transgene modalities (QuoRex) derived from Streptomyces coelicolor, we have designed a flexible and highly compatible expression vector set that enables desired transgene/siRNA control in response to the nontoxic butyrolactone SCB1. The construction-kit-like expression portfolio includes (i) multicistronic (pTRIDENT), (ii) autoregulated, (iii) bidirectional (pBiRex), (iv) oncoretro- and lentiviral transduction, and (v) RNA polymerase II-based siRNA transcription-fine-tuning vectors for straightforward implementation of QuoRex-controlled (trans)gene modulation in mammalian cells.