Highly B lymphocyte-specific tamoxifen inducible transgene expression of CreER T2 by using the LC-1 locus BAC vector.
The generation of cell type specific inducible Cre transgenic mice is the most challenging and limiting part in the development of spatio-temporally controlled knockout mouse models. Here we report the generation and characterization of a B lymphocyte-specific tamoxifen-inducible Cre transgenic mouse strain, LC-1-hCD19-CreER(T2). We utilized the human CD19 promoter for expression of the tamoxifen-inducible Cre recombinase (CreER(T2)) gene, embedded in genomic sequences previously reported to give minimal position effects after transgenesis. Cre recombinase activity was evaluated by cross-breeding the LC-1-hCD19-CreER(T2) strain with a strain containing a floxed gene widely expressed in the hematopoietic system. Cre activity was only detected in the presence of tamoxifen and was restricted to B lymphocytes. The efficacy of recombination ranged from 27 to 61% in the hemizygous and homozygous mice, respectively. In conclusion, the LC-1-hCD19-CreER(T2) strain is a powerful tool to study gene function specifically in B lymphocytes at any chosen time point in the lifecycle of the mouse.
Boross
Peter
P
Department of Human and Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Breukel
Cor
C
van Loo
Pieter Fokko
PF
van der Kaa
Jos
J
Claassens
Jill W
JW
Bujard
Hermann
H
Schönig
Kai
K
Verbeek
J Sjef
JS
D000818:Animals; D018941:Antigens, CD19 / Q000235:genetics; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D022202:Chromosomes, Artificial, Bacterial; D017931:DNA Primers; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019076:Transgenes
D018941:Antigens, CD19; D017931:DNA Primers; D013629:Tamoxifen; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases