Testing gene function early in the B cell lineage in mb1-cre mice.
The mb1 gene encodes the Ig-alpha signaling subunit of the B cell antigen receptor and is expressed exclusively in B cells beginning at the very early pro-B cell stage in the bone marrow. We examine here the efficacy of the mb1 gene as a host locus for cre recombinase expression in B cells. We show that by integrating a humanized cre recombinase into the mb1 locus we obtain extraordinarily efficient recombination of loxP sites in the B cell lineage. The results from a variety of reporter genes including the splicing factor SRp20 and the DNA methylase Dnmt1 suggest that mb1-cre is probably the best model so far described for pan-B cell-specific cre expression. The availability of a mouse line with efficient cre-mediated recombination at an early developmental stage in the B lineage provides an opportunity to study the role of various genes specifically in B cell development and function.
Hobeika
E
E
Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology, Stuebeweg 51, 79108 Freiburg, Germany.
Thiemann
S
S
Storch
B
B
Jumaa
H
H
Nielsen
P J
PJ
Pelanda
R
R
Reth
M
M
D000818:Animals; D018941:Antigens, CD19 / Q000235:genetics; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051925:CD79 Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D019070:Cell Lineage; D000076123:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferase 1; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015870:Gene Expression; D018390:Gene Targeting; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015851:Interleukin-7 / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains / Q000235:genetics*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D000068103:Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors
D018941:Antigens, CD19; D051925:CD79 Antigens; C497882:Cd79a protein, mouse; D015851:Interleukin-7; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C106161:Srsf3 protein, mouse; D000068103:Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors; D000076123:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferase 1; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases; C000619381:Dnmt1 protein, mouse; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases