Construction of eukaryotic expression vector containing thymidine kinase gene and its expression in esophageal cell line Eca-109

Aim: To construct a recombinant eukaryotic expression vector containing HSV-tk cDNA and to investigate the expression of the vector in transfected esophageal cancer cell lines. Methods: pcDNA3-tk established by subcloning HSV-tk cDNA into a eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3 was introduced into esophageal cancer cell lines Eca-109 by lipofectamine. The transfected esophageal cancer cells were selected in RPMI1640 containing G418, and RT-PCR was used for detection of mRNA transcription. Results: It was proved that the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3-tk was successfully constructed and HSV-tk mRNA was detected only in pcDNA3-tk transfected cell lines. Conclusion: pcDNA3-tk harboring HSV-tk cDNA can be expressed in the transfected esophageal cancer cells.