Figure 2.

General appearance of Notch2^ΔPEST/WT germline mice and Notch signaling in the spleen. Weight, spleen weight, documentation of Notch2^[ΔPEST]COIN inversion, and expression of Notch target genes in control and germline Notch2^ΔPEST/WT mice. A and B: Body weight (A) and ratio of spleen/body weight (B) of Notch2^ΔPEST/WT and control 2-month–old male mice. C: DNA was extracted from tails, and Notch2^[ΔPEST]COIN inversion was documented by gel electrophoresis of PCR products obtained with primers specific for the Notch2^ΔPEST allele. The arrow indicates the position of the 250-bp amplicon. D: Total RNA was extracted from spleens, and expression of the Notch2^ΔPEST, Notch2^PEST, Hes1, and Hes5 mRNA was determined by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. Transcript levels are reported as copy number corrected for Rpl38 mRNA levels. Two technical replicates were used for each real-time quantitative RT-PCR. Data for Hes1 mRNA were obtained from 2- and 2.5-month–old mice. Data are expressed as means ± SD (A, B, and D). n = 4 biological replicates (A and B); n = 3 control and n = 4 Notch2^ΔPEST/WT biological replicates for Notch2^ΔPEST, Notch2^PEST and Hes5 expression (D); n = 5 control and n = 7 Notch2^ΔPEST/WT biological replicates for Hes1 mRNA levels (D). ^∗P < 0.05 versus control (t-test).