title: Nestin-Cre transgenic mouse line Nes-Cre1 mediates highly efficient Cre/loxP mediated recombination in the nervous system, kidney, and somite-derived tissues.
abstract: Here we describe the generation of the Nes-Cre1 transgenic mouse line in which Cre recombinase expression is controlled by the rat nestin promoter and intron 2 enhancer. This line has previously been used for conditional loss-of-function studies of various genes in the central nervous system and first branchial arch ectoderm. Here we report the detailed temporal and spatial recombination pattern of Nes-Cre1 using three different reporters of Cre-mediated recombination, ROSA26R (R26R), Z/AP, and Z/EG. Cre/loxP recombination was detected in embryos as early as the head-fold stage. By embryonic day (E)15.5 recombination occurred in virtually all cells of the nervous system and unexpectedly also in somite-derived tissues and kidneys. Tissues with little or no recombination included heart, liver, thymus, and lung. This study suggests that Nes-Cre1-mediated recombination occurs in progenitor cell types present in the neuroectoderm, the developing mesonephros, and the somites.
authors.affiliation: Genetics and Stem Cell Laboratory, Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), Epalinges, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nicole C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Dubois
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: Kostas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaloulis
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bishop
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trumpp
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D007668:Kidney / Q000196:embryology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009420:Nervous System / Q000196:embryology*; D064231:Nestin; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D019170:Somites / Q000378:metabolism*; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D007381:Intermediate Filament Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C577485:Nes protein, mouse; C577486:Nes protein, rat; D064231:Nestin; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases