title: Transgenic techniques for cell ablation or molecular deletion to investigate functions of astrocytes and other GFAP-expressing cell types.
abstract: Genetic tools are enabling the molecular dissection of the functions and mechanisms of many biological processes. Transgenic manipulations provide powerful tools with which to test hypotheses regarding functions of specific cell types and molecules in vivo in combination with different types of experimental models. Various techniques are available that can target genetic manipulations specifically to astrocytes and that are enabling the molecular dissection of astrocyte biology in vivo. This article summarizes procedures and experience from our laboratory using transgenic strategies that enable either the ablation of proliferating astrocytes and related cells, or the deletion of specific molecules selectively from astrocytes, to study the functions of astrocytes and related cell types in health and disease in vivo using different experimental mouse models.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. sofroniew@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Michael V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Sofroniew
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D015774:Ganciclovir / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017353:Gene Deletion; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques; D005838:Genotype; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D005911:Gliosis; D019426:Integrases; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000201:enzymology; D013937:Thymidine Kinase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019076:Transgenes / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C528900:glial fibrillary astrocytic protein, mouse; D013937:Thymidine Kinase; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases; D015774:Ganciclovir