Complete blood count and selected serum parameters of Venus transgenic rabbits

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic laboratory animals (mice, rats, rabbits etc.) are commonly used in basic research for modelling human diseases, studying organ development, cell transfer during pregnancy or tissue engineering. The expression of the fluorescent protein can be either ubiquitous or tissue-specific, depending on the transgenic construct and the integration site of the transgene. Despite the wide applications, the data about the physiological parameters of GFP transgenic animals are limited. In most of the transgenic lines, GFP does not induce any detrimental effect, but GFP-induced conditions are also reported. Altered T-lymphopoiesis and low white blood cell (WBC) count were observed in human ubiquitin C promoter-driven GFP transgenic (UBC-GFP) mice due to latent stem cell defect. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of the Venus fluorescent protein on hematopoiesis and general health of transgenic rabbits, thus, hematology along with selected serum parameters were measured.