Simultaneous deletion of floxed genes mediated by CaMKIIα-Cre in the brain and in male germ cells: application to conditional and conventional disruption of Goα.

Simultaneous deletion of floxed genes mediated by CaMKIIα-Cre in the brain and in male germ cells: application to conditional and conventional disruption of Goα. Exp Mol Med. 2014;46:e93 Authors: Choi CI, Yoon SP, Choi JM, Kim SS, Lee YD, Birnbaumer L, Suh-Kim H Abstract The Cre/LoxP system is a well-established approach to spatially and temporally control genetic inactivation. The calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II alpha subunit (CaMKIIα) promoter limits expression to specific regions of the forebrain and thus has been utilized for the brain-specific inactivation of the genes. Here, we show that CaMKIIα-Cre can be utilized for simultaneous inactivation of genes in the adult brain and in male germ cells. Double transgenic Rosa26(+/stop-lacZ)::CaMKIIα-Cre(+/Cre) mice generated by crossing CaMKIIα-Cre(+/Cre) mice with floxed ROSA26 lacZ reporter (Rosa26(+/stop-lacZ)) mice exhibited lacZ expression in the brain and testis. When these mice were mated to wild-type females, about 27% of the offspring were whole body blue by X-gal staining without inheriting the Cre transgene. These results indicate that recombination can occur in the germ cells of male Rosa26(+/stop-lacZ)::CaMKIIα-Cre(+/Cre) mice. Similarly, when double transgenic Gnao(+/f)::CaMKIIα-Cre(+/Cre) mice carrying a floxed Go-alpha gene (Gnao(f/f)) were backcrossed to wild-type females, approximately 22% of the offspring carried the disrupted allele (Gnao(Δ))...
Source: exp Mol Med - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tags: Exp Mol Med Source Type: research