Tamoxifen-inducible Cre-mediated recombination in adipocytes.
To generate a mouse line which allows inducible, Cre/loxP-dependent recombination in adipocytes, we used RedE/RedT-mediated recombineering to insert the CreER(T)²-transgene, which encodes a fusion protein of Cre and a mutated tamoxifen-responsive estrogen receptor, into the start codon of the adipocyte-specific Adipoq gene. Adipoq encodes adiponectin, an adipokine specifically expressed in differentiated adipocytes. Tamoxifen treatment induced almost complete recombination in white adipose tissue of the AdipoqCreER(T)² mouse line (97%-99%), while no recombination was seen in vehicle-treated animals. Recombination in brown adipose tissue was about 15%, whereas other organs and tissues did not undergo recombination. In addition, mice expressing CreER(T)² in adipocytes did not show any alterations of metabolic functions like glucose tolerance, lipolysis, or energy expenditure compared to control mice. Therefore the AdipoqCreER(T)² mouse line will be a valuable tool for studying the consequences of a temporally controlled deletion of floxed genes in white adipose tissue.
Sassmann
Antonia
A
Department of Pharmacology, Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim, Germany.
Offermanns
Stefan
S
Wettschureck
Nina
N
D017667:Adipocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D052436:Adipose Tissue, White / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D018387:Codon, Initiator; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008066:Lipolysis / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011995:Recombination, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects*; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019076:Transgenes
D018387:Codon, Initiator; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D013629:Tamoxifen; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases