title: Transgenic expression of Cre recombinase in mitral/tufted cells of the olfactory bulb.
abstract: Olfactory information is conveyed from the periphery to the olfactory cortices through mitral and tufted (M/T) cells in the olfactory bulb. A mouse with a specific expression of Cre recombinase in M/T cells is essential for genetic marking of M/T cells and manipulating their properties. Protocadherin 21 (Pcdh21) expression is highly restricted to M/T cells. Here we report a transgenic mouse line, Pcdh21-Cre, in which 10-kb mouse Pcdh21 promoter drives the expression of Cre recombinase. In Pcdh21-Cre mice, Cre recombinase activity is predominantly detected in M/T cells, visualized with the anti-CFP immunostaining in offspring of a cross between Pcdh21-Cre and the reporter Rosa26-loxP-stop-loxP-CFP strain. These results demonstrate that the 10-kb Pcdh21 promoter can drive transcription in M/T cells and Pcdh21-Cre mice can be used to excise floxed DNA fragments in M/T cells, which provides a valuable tool to reveal the structure and function of the central olfactory circuits.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurogenetics Unit, HMRO, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Yoshida-Konoe, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: Mineto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yokoi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019426:Integrases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic
chemical_list: C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases