Transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein under the control of the corticotropin-releasing hormone promoter.
CRH is widely expressed in the brain and is of broad functional relevance to a number of physiological processes, including stress response, parturition, immune response, and ingestive behavior. To delineate further the organization of the central CRH network, we generated mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) under the control of the CRH promoter, using bacterial artificial chromosome technology. Here we validate CRH-GFP transgene expression within specific brain regions and confirm the distribution of central GFP-producing cells to faithfully recapitulate that of CRH-expressing cells. Furthermore, we confirm the functional integrity of a population of GFP-producing cells by demonstrating their opposite responsiveness to nutritional status. We anticipate that this transgenic model will lend itself as a highly tractable tool for the investigation of CRH expression and function in discrete brain regions.
Alon
Tamar
T
Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA.
Zhou
Ligang
L
Pérez
Cristian A
CA
Garfield
Alastair S
AS
Friedman
Jeffrey M
JM
Heisler
Lora K
LK
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone