title: Fate of transient catecholaminergic cell types revealed by site-specific recombination in transgenic mice.
abstract: Catecholamine-producing cell types are generated from specified neuronal lineages during vertebrate development. The catecholaminergic phenotype is also expressed transiently in some cell types in non-catecholaminergic tissues, including the sensory ganglia, enteric ganglia, and ventral portions of the neural tube during embryonic development. The fate of the transient catecholaminergic cell types at later developmental stages, however, has not been elucidated. We developed a Cre-loxP-mediated recombination system under the control of the dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) promoter, which drives gene expression in typical noradrenergic and adrenergic cell groups as well as in transient catecholaminergic cell types. Expression of Cre recombinase in transgenic mice resulted in an efficient recombination in noradrenergic and adrenergic cell groups at the adult stage. The recombination was also induced in the cranial nerve/spinal cord motor neurons and sensory/enteric ganglion neurons. Analysis of recombination patterns in transgenic mouse embryos showed the occurrence of recombination during prenatal development in both cell types exhibiting the typical and transient catecholaminergic phenotypes. Because the DBH gene promoter is expressed transiently in the ventral neural tube and sensory ganglion during embryonic development, our results provide evidence that the cell types showing a transient catecholaminergic phenotype in these tissues are destined to become mature motor neurons or sensory ganglion neurons during subsequent differentiation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Natsuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Kenta
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Jun-ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miyazaki
authors.forename: Kazuto
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000502:physiology; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D002460:Cell Line; D004299:Dopamine beta-Hydroxylase / Q000235:genetics; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D019426:Integrases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008249:Protein-Lysine 6-Oxidase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins; C077112:Lox protein, mouse; D004299:Dopamine beta-Hydroxylase; D008249:Protein-Lysine 6-Oxidase; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases