title: Conditional brain-specific knockdown of MAPK using Cre/loxP regulated RNA interference.
abstract: In the last years, RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated gene knockdown has developed into a routine method to assess gene function in cultured mammalian cells in a fast and easy manner. For the use of this technique in developing or adult mice, short hairpin (sh)RNA vectors expressed stably from the genome are a faster alternative to conventional knockout approaches. Here we describe an advanced strategy for conditional gene knockdown in mice, where we used the Cre/loxP system to activate RNAi in a time and tissue dependent manner in the adult mouse brain. By placing conditional RNAi constructs into the defined genomic Rosa26 locus and by using recombinase mediated cassette exchange (RMCE) instead of laborious homologous recombination, we developed a fast, easy and reproducible approach to assess gene function in adult mice. We applied this technique to three genes of the MAPK signaling pathway-Braf, Mek1 and Mek2-and demonstrate here the potential of this new tool in mouse mutagenesis.
authors.affiliation: GSF National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Developmental Genetics, Ingolstaedter Landstrasse 1, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hitz
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wurst
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kühn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001287:Attachment Sites, Microbiological; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D019426:Integrases / Q000378:metabolism*; D048369:MAP Kinase Kinase 1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics; D048370:MAP Kinase Kinase 2 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000235:genetics; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D051379:Mice; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics; D034622:RNA Interference; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: C110853:Gt(ROSA)26Sor non-coding RNA, mouse; D011506:Proteins; D022661:RNA, Untranslated; C482120:Braf protein, mouse; D048493:Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf; D048369:MAP Kinase Kinase 1; D048370:MAP Kinase Kinase 2; C482127:Map2k1 protein, mouse; C482129:Map2k2 protein, mouse; D020929:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases