title: Generation and characterization of Csrp1 enhancer-driven tissue-restricted Cre-recombinase mice.
abstract: Cell type-specific genetic modification using the LoxP/Cre system is a powerful tool for genetic analysis of distinct cell lineages. Because of the unique arterial smooth muscle-restricted expression of a 5.0 kb cysteine-rich protein (Csrp1) enhancer (Lilly et al.,2001, Dev Biol 240:531-547), we hypothesized that a transgenic Cre line would prove useful for the smooth muscle lineage-specific genetic manipulation. Here we describe a transgenic mouse line, ECsrp1(Cre), where Cre is initially specifically expressed in arterial smooth muscle cells. Use of the ROSA26R reporter allele confirmed that Cre-mediated recombination in vascular smooth muscle cells began at approximately E10.0 and was highly proficient. Subsequently, Cre is expressed in restricted skeletal and nonvascular smooth muscle lineages. This lineage tracing data is important for future conditional knockout studies to understand where and when Cre-mediated deletion occurs and where Cre-expressing daughter cells finally localize. Additionally, we crossed the ECsrp1(Cre) mice to the ROSA26(-eGFP-DTA) diphtheria toxin A-expressing mice to genetically ablate ECsrp1(Cre) expressing cells. This ECsrp1(Cre) transgenic line should thus prove useful for genetic analysis of diverse aspects of cardiovascular morphogenesis and as a general smooth muscle lineage deletor line.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Development Group, Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Paige
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Snider
authors.forename: Jana L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Fix
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rogers
authors.forename: Goldie
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peabody-Dowling
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ingram
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lilly
authors.forename: Simon J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Conway
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006321:Heart / Q000196:embryology; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D060588:LIM Domain Proteins; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000378:metabolism; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000235:genetics; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009928:Organ Specificity; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D022661:RNA, Untranslated
chemical_list: C486177:Csrp1 protein, mouse; C110853:Gt(ROSA)26Sor non-coding RNA, mouse; D060588:LIM Domain Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D022661:RNA, Untranslated; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases