pLVTHM Guide
pLVTHM is a lentiviral plasmid that has been deposited at Addgene by the Trono Lab. As one of our most popular 2nd generation transfer vectors, we’ve created a simplified guide to its features.
This vector map highlights all the important parts of the pLVTHM transfer vector. Simple descriptions of each component can be found in the table below. The Addgene page for this plasmid can be found here
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| 5’LTR | 5’ Long terminal repeat, contains cis regulatory regions which recruit proteins that promote transcription of full length lentivirus. Sequences here facilitate proviral integration into the host genome; an intact 5’LTR indicates that this is a 2nd generation transfer plasmid |
| Psi | Sequence that facilitates packaging of viral RNA |
| RRE | Rev response element: sequence to which the Rev protein binds to facilitate nuclear export of viral RNA |
| EF1α | Promoter for elongation factor 1α, used to the expression of a marker gene such as GFP |
| cPPT | Central poly purine tract allows nuclear import of lentivirus in host cells |
| GFP | Green fluorescent protein used to mark successfully infected cells |
| WPRE | The woodchuck hepatitis virus Posttranscriptonal response element augments shRNA expression |
| TetO | Binding site for the tet repressor protein or a variant thereof which can be used to turn on or off shRNA expression |
| H1 | Histone H1 promoter used to drive shRNA expression |
| LoxP | Site which is recombined by the Cre recombinase in order to conditionally remove the lentiviral provirus from the host genome after successful infection and incorporation |
| 3’LTR/SIN | 3’LTR with a large deletion in the U3 region, makes the virus replication incompetent |
| Amp R | Ampicillin resistance gene for clonal selection of transfer vector in bacteria |