Widespread discrepancy in <i>Nnt</i> genotypes and genetic backgrounds complicates granzyme A and other knockout mouse studies.

Abstract

Granzyme A (GZMA) is a serine protease secreted by cytotoxic lymphocytes, with <i>Gzma</i>^-/- mouse studies having informed our understanding of GZMA's physiological function. We show herein that <i>Gzma</i>^-/- mice have a mixed C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N genetic background and retain the full-length nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (<i>Nnt</i>) gene, whereas <i>Nnt</i> is truncated in C57BL/6J mice. Chikungunya viral arthritis was substantially ameliorated in <i>Gzma</i>^-/- mice; however, the presence of <i>Nnt</i> and the C57BL/6N background, rather than loss of GZMA expression, was responsible for this phenotype. A new CRISPR active site mutant C57BL/6J <i>Gzma</i>^S211A mouse provided the first insights into GZMA's bioactivity free of background issues, with circulating proteolytically active GZMA promoting immune-stimulating and pro-inflammatory signatures. Remarkably, k-mer mining of the Sequence Read Archive illustrated that ≈27% of Run Accessions and ≈38% of BioProjects listing C57BL/6J as the mouse strain had <i>Nnt</i> sequencing reads inconsistent with a C57BL/6J genetic background. <i>Nnt</i> and C57BL/6N background issues have clearly complicated our understanding of GZMA and may similarly have influenced studies across a broad range of fields.