title: Lineage Tracing Using Cux2-Cre and Cux2-CreERT2 Mice.
abstract: Using genetic fate-mapping with Cux2-Cre and Cux2-CreERT2 mice we demonstrated that the neocortical ventricular zone (VZ) contains radial glial cells (RGCs) with restricted fate potentials (Franco et al., 2012). Using the same mouse lines, Guo et al. (2013) concluded that the neocortical VZ does not contain lineage-restricted RGCs. We now show that the recombination pattern in Cux2-Cre/CreERT2 mice depends on genetic background and breeding strategies. We provide evidence that Guo et al. likely reached different conclusions because they worked with transgenic sublines with drifted transgene expression patterns. In Cux2-Cre and Cux2-CreERT2 mice that recapitulate the endogenous Cux2 expression pattern, the vast majority of fate-mapped neurons express Satb2 but not Ctip2, confirming that a restricted subset of all neocortical projection neurons belongs to the Cux2 lineage. This Matters Arising paper is in response to Guo et al. (2013), published in Neuron. See also the Matters Arising Response paper by Eckler et al. (2015), published concurrently with this Matters Arising in Neuron.
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Department, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gil-Sanz
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Department, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Espinosa
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Cell Biology, Stem Cells and Development, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
authors.forename: Santiago P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Fregoso
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Department, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Krista K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Bluske
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Department, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QX, UK.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martinez-Garay
authors.affiliation: Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98103, USA.
authors.forename: Hongkui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Cell Biology, Stem Cells and Development, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA; Program of Pediatric Stem Cell Biology, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. Electronic address: santos.franco@ucdenver.edu.
authors.forename: Santos J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Department, Dorris Neuroscience Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Electronic address: umueller@scripps.edu.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000502:physiology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics*; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019076:Transgenes / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C101672:Cux2 protein, mouse; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D019426:Integrases