title: A reporter mouse line with doxycyclin-inducible expression of β-glucosidase.
abstract: Mouse lines allowing the inducible expression of transgenes became essential tools for studying gene function and for developing accurate animal models for human diseases. A key component of this tool is the availability of "reporter" lines, mice expressing transgenes encoding easily detectable enzymes or other proteins normally not associated with eukaryotic tissues. Such lines may be suitable for a number of applications, including lineage tracing, label-retaining experiments, and the identification and monitoring of regulatory elements important for tissue-specific gene expression. However, only a limited number of reporter lines suitable for inducible expression systems are available. Here, we employed pronuclear DNA microinjection to generate a new reporter mouse line that allows the inducible expression of β-glucosidase, a recently reported stable and easily detectable protein, upon administration of doxycyclin to the drinking water. This novel line was established in the widely used inbreed background C57BL/6, and the transgene is transmitted between generations in a Mendelian fashion. When crossed to a K14-rtTA mouse line, activation of β-glucosidase expression in the epidermal basal layer is easily detected in double-transgenic animals receiving doxycyclin, while no expression is seen in double-transgenic mice without doxycyclin treatment or in animals carrying only one transgene. We anticipate that this new mouse line will become a valuable tool for a number of applications in vivo, including label-retaining experiments and testing the appropriate regulation of rtTA cassettes under different promoters in novel transgenic mouse lines.
authors.affiliation: Chair for Molecular Animal Breeding and Biotechnology, Gene Center, LMU Munich, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 25, 81377, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Freya F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Jay
authors.forename: Marlon R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Schneider
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000187:drug effects*; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012867:Skin / Q000201:enzymology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001617:beta-Glucosidase / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001617:beta-Glucosidase; D004318:Doxycycline
references.citation: Thromb Haemost. 2013 Oct;110(4):634-40
references.pmid: 23446493
references.citation: Genesis. 2012 May;50(5):437-42
references.pmid: 21998080
references.citation: Nat Biotechnol. 2009 Jan;27(1):84-90
references.pmid: 19060879
references.citation: Transgenic Res. 1994 May;3(3):182-94
references.pmid: 8025596
references.citation: BMC Biol. 2010 Jun 22;8:89
references.pmid: 20569471
references.citation: Nature. 2011 Oct 09;479(7372):189-93
references.pmid: 21983963
references.citation: Dev Growth Differ. 2013 May;55(4):390-405
references.pmid: 23621623
references.citation: Science. 1995 Jun 23;268(5218):1766-9
references.pmid: 7792603
references.citation: Genesis. 2012 Sep;50(9):652-64
references.pmid: 22467532
references.citation: PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e38965
references.pmid: 22745693
references.citation: J Biotechnol. 2004 Feb 19;108(1):17-30
references.pmid: 14741766
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 1999 Nov 15;27(22):4324-7
references.pmid: 10536138
references.citation: Nature. 2014 Feb 20;506(7488):322-7
references.pmid: 24463516
references.citation: Cell. 2012 Jan 20;148(1-2):33-45
references.pmid: 22265400
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Oct 1;93(20):10933-8
references.pmid: 8855286
references.citation: Bone. 2011 Dec;49(6):1242-54
references.pmid: 21907838
references.citation: Cell. 2006 Oct 6;127(1):171-83
references.pmid: 17018284
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Sep 27;91(20):9302-6
references.pmid: 7937760