genesis
NADPH oxidase complexes are multiprotein assemblies that generate reactive oxygen species in a variety of mammalian tissues. The canonical phagocytic oxidase consists of a heterodimeric, enzymatic core comprised of the transmembrane proteins, CYBB andCYBA and is regulated, in part, by an “organizing” function of NCF1 and an “activating” activity of NCF2. In contexts outside of the phagocyte, these...
The regulatory elements of the Tie2/Tek promoter are commonly used in mouse models to direct transgene expression to endothelial cells. Tunica intima endothelial kinase 2 (Tie2) is also expressed in hematopoietic cells, although this has not been fully characterized. We determine the lineages of adult hematopoietic cells derived from Tie2‐expressing populations using Tie2‐Cre;Rosa26R‐EYFP mice. In...
The homeostasis of Drosophila midgut is maintained by multipotent intestinal stem cells (ISCs), each of which gives rise to a new ISC and an immature daughter cell, enteroblast (EB), after one asymmetric cell division. In Drosophila, the Gal4‐UAS system is widely used to manipulate gene expression in a tissue‐ or cell‐specific manner, but in Drosophila midgut, there are no ISC‐ or EB‐specific Gal4...
When compared with the many tamoxifen‐activated Cre mouse lines available for gene manipulation studies, relatively few RU486‐inducible Cre mice are in use, due to leakiness issues. Here, we report the generation of an RU486‐inducible triple fusion gene (GCrePR1e), consisting of green fluorescent protein, Cre, and the progesterone receptor ligand‐binding domain (F642‐L901). We sought to improve the...
Gene trap mutagenesis in embryonic stem cells is an important tool to help elucidate gene function in current mouse mutagenesis efforts. Vector systems based on inversion of the gene trap module have recently been devised to allow for conditional mutagenesis. However, additional efforts are needed to improve this technology including improving the efficiency of site‐specific recombinases required...
Here we describe the generation of an inducible Cre transgenic line allowing conditional mutagenesis in ovarian granulosa cells. We have expressed the tamoxifen inducible CreERT2 fusion protein from a Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) containing the regulatory elements of the hydroxysteroid (17‐beta) dehydrogenase 1 (Hsd17b1) gene. Hsd17b1‐iCreERT2 transgenic mice express the iCreERT2 fusion protein...
The spinal cord is the first site of temporal and spatial integration of nociceptive signals in the pain pathway. Neuroplastic changes occurring at this site contribute critically to various chronic pain syndromes. Gene targeting in mice has generated important insights into these processes. However, the analysis of constitutive (global) gene‐deficient mice is often hampered by confounding effects...
To generate a mouse line which allows inducible, Cre/loxP‐dependent recombination in adipocytes, we used RedE/RedT‐mediated recombineering to insert the CreERT2‐transgene, which encodes a fusion protein of Cre and a mutated tamoxifen‐responsive estrogen receptor, into the start codon of the adipocyte‐specific Adipoq gene. Adipoq encodes adiponectin, an adipokine specifically expressed in differentiated...
DSCAMs are cell adhesion molecules that play several important roles in neurodevelopment. Mouse alleles of Dscam identified to date do not survive on an inbred C57BL/6 background, complicating analysis of DSCAM‐dependent developmental processes because of phenotypic variability related to the segregating backgrounds needed for postnatal survival. A novel spontaneous allele of Dscam, hereafter referred...
Rod bipolar cells (green; PKCa+), a subset of retinal bipolar cells (red; CHX10+) span the two synaptic layers of the mouse retina, Nuclei in the three nuclear layers of the mouse retina are blue (Hoechst stain). A new mutant mouse allele of Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (Dscam) was used to study the role of this gene in synaptic lamination of the mouse retina. See the article by Fuerst et...
The Msx and Dlx families of homeobox proteins are important regulators for embryogenesis. Loss of Msx1 in mice results in multiple developmental defects including craniofacial malformations. Although Dlx5 is widely expressed during embryonic development, targeted null mutation of Dlx5 mainly affects the development of craniofacial bones. Msx1 and Dlx5 show overlapping expression patterns during frontal...
The PR domain containing 1a, with ZNF domain factor, gene (prdm1a) plays an integral role in the development of a number of different cell types during vertebrate embryogenesis, including neural crest cells, Rohon‐Beard (RB) sensory neurons and the cranial neural crest‐derived craniofacial skeletal elements. To better understand how Prdm1a regulates the development of various cell types in zebrafish,...
Activin receptor‐like kinase 1 (ACVRL1; ALK1) is predominantly expressed in arterial endothelial cells and plays an important role in angiogenesis. ACVRL1 mutations cause hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), a genetic vascular disorder for which the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. We have found that expression of transmembrane protein 100 (Tmem100) is downregulated in the lung of...
Sox9 expression defines cell progenitors in a variety of tissues during mouse embryogenesis. To establish a genetic tool for cell‐lineage tracing and gene‐function analysis, we generated mice in which the CreERT2 gene was targeted to the endogenous mouse Sox9 locus. In Sox9CreERT2/+;R26R embryos, tamoxifen activated Cre recombinase exclusively in Sox9‐expressing tissues. To determine the suitability...
Shown are images of Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit fly), Schmidtea mediterranea(Planaria), Loligo pealei (Long‐finned squid), Junonia almana (Peacock pansy butterfly), Schistocerca americana (American bird grasshopper), Monosiga brevicollis (Choanoflagellate), Mus musculus (House mouse), Lytechinus variagatus (Green sea urchin), Caenorhabditis elegans (Nematode), unidentified wild‐caught annelid species,...
Cre‐loxP technology enables specific examination of the function and development of individual nuclei in the complex brain network. However, for most brain regions, the utilization of this technique has been hindered by the lack of mouse lines with Cre expression restricted to these regions. Here, we identified brain expressions of three transgenic Cre lines previously thought to be pancreas‐specific...
During spinal neurogenesis, the p2 progenitor domain generates at least two subclasses of interneurons named V2a and V2b, which are components of the locomotor central pattern generator. The winged‐helix/forkhead transcription factor Foxn4 is expressed in a subset of p2 progenitors and required for specifying V2b interneurons. Here, we report the generation of a Foxn4‐Cre BAC transgenic mouse line...