title: Expression of tamoxifen-inducible CRE recombinase in Lcn5-CreERT2transgenic mouse caput epididymis.
abstract: The epididymis, which connects the testis to vas deferens, plays a crucial role regulating sperm maturation and fertilization. Here, a tamoxifen-inducible CreERT2recombinase transgenic mouse was generated to study the function of genes in the caput epididymis using the Cre/LoxP system, which is driven by the 1.8-kb Lcn5 promoter (Lcn5-CreERT2). Both CRE recombinase and ERT2mRNA were specifically expressed in the caput epididymis, beginning at postnatal Day 30 and increasing thereafter. Crossing these Lcn5-CreERT2transgenic mice with Rosa26; mT/mG reporter mice, which express membrane-bound GFP (mGFP) only after CRE is active at its genetic locus, resulted in the presence of GFP only in the middle/distal caput epididymis after tamoxifen induction. Efficiency of the CRE recombinase production in the caput epididymis was dose- and time-dependent. These tamoxifen-inducible caput epididymis-specific CRE recombinase transgenic mice thus provides a simple approach to modulate epididymal principal cells in vivo, allowing for the genetic investigation of caput epididymis-specific gene functions during sperm maturation. 84: 257-264, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Guangxin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Andrology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P. R. China.|Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Shanghai, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yanfei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ru
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding, and Reproduction of the Ministry of Education and Key Laboratory of Swine Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, P. R. China.|The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shengsong
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5124-2673
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004822:Epididymis / Q000378:metabolism; D017353:Gene Deletion; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D054839:Retinol-Binding Proteins, Plasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: C112597:Lcn5 protein, mouse; D054839:Retinol-Binding Proteins, Plasma; D013629:Tamoxifen; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases