Osx-Cre targets multiple cell types besides osteoblast lineage in postnatal mice.
Osterix (Osx or Sp7) is a zinc-finger-family transcriptional factor essential for osteoblast differentiation in mammals. The Osx-Cre mouse line (also known as Osx1-GFP::Cre) expresses GFP::Cre fusion protein from a BAC transgene containing the Osx regulatory sequence. The mouse strain was initially characterized during embryogenesis, and found to target mainly osteoblast-lineage cells. Because the strain has been increasingly used in postnatal studies, it is important to evaluate its targeting specificity in mice after birth. By crossing the Osx-Cre mouse with the R26-mT/mG reporter line and analyzing the progenies at two months of age, we find that Osx-Cre targets not only osteoblasts, osteocytes and hypertrophic chondrocytes as expected, but also stromal cells, adipocytes and perivascular cells in the bone marrow. The targeting of adipocytes and perivascular cells appears to be specific to those residing within the bone marrow, as the same cell types elsewhere are not targeted. Beyond the skeleton, Osx-Cre also targets the olfactory glomerular cells, and a subset of the gastric and intestinal epithelium. Thus, potential contributions from the non-osteoblast-lineage cells should be considered when Osx-Cre is used to study gene functions in postnatal mice.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
Jianquan
J
Chen
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
Yu
Y
Shi
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
Jenna
J
Regan
Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
Kannan
K
Karuppaiah
Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
David M
DM
Ornitz
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America ; Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America ; Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America.
Fanxin
F
Long
D017667:Adipocytes / Q000166:cytology; D000818:Animals; D019070:Cell Lineage; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D000076182:Sp7 Transcription Factor; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
D000076182:Sp7 Transcription Factor; C479466:Sp7 protein, mouse; D014157:Transcription Factors; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases