title: Characterization of a novel transgenic mouse line expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the Cdx2 neural specific enhancer.
abstract: Several genetically modified mouse models have been generated in order to drive expression of the Cre recombinase in the neuroectoderm. However, none of them specifically targets the posterior neural plate during neurulation. To fill this gap, we have generated a new transgenic mouse line in which Cre expression is controlled by a neural specific enhancer (NSE) from the Caudal-related homeobox 2 (Cdx2) locus. Analyses of Cre activity via breeding with R26R-YFP reporter mice have indicated that the Cdx2NSE-Cre mouse line allows for recombination of LoxP sites in most cells of the posterior neural plate as soon as from the head fold stage. Detailed examination of double-transgenic embryos has revealed that this novel Cre-driver line allows targeting the entire posterior neural tube with an anterior limit in the caudal hindbrain. Of note, the Cdx2NSE regulatory sequences direct Cre expression along the whole dorso-ventral axis (including pre-migratory neural crest cells) and, accordingly, YFP fluorescence has been also observed in multiple non-cranial neural crest derivatives of double-transgenic embryos. Therefore, we believe that the Cdx2NSE-Cre mouse line represents an important novel genetic tool for the study of early events occurring in the caudal neuroectoderm during the formation of both the central and the peripheral nervous systems.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics of Development Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences and BioMed Research Center, Faculty of Sciences, University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), Canada, H2X 3Y7.
authors.forename: Baptiste
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coutaud
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pilon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D000071616:CDX2 Transcription Factor; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D023421:Models, Animal; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology; D054258:Neural Plate / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D054259:Neural Tube / Q000196:embryology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D000071616:CDX2 Transcription Factor; C487514:Cdx2 protein, mouse; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C054562:yellow fluorescent protein, Bacteria; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases
keywords: Cdx2; Cre recombinase; neural crest cells; neural specific enhancer; neural tube; posterior neural plate