Acharya Asha, Baek Seung Tae, Banfi Serena, Eskiocak Banu, Tallquist Michelle D
Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9148, USA.
Genesis. 2011 Nov;49(11):870-7. doi: 10.1002/dvg.20750. Epub 2011 Aug 18.
Tcf21 is a Class II bHLH family member with essential roles in the formation of the lungs, kidneys, gonads, spleen, and heart. Here, we report the utility of a mouse line with targeted insertion of a tamoxifen-inducible Cre recombinase, MerCreMer at the Tcf21 locus. This mouse line will permit the inducible expression of Cre recombinase in Tcf21-expressing cells. Using ROSA26 reporter mice, we show that Cre recombinase is specifically and robustly activated in multiple Tcf21-expressing tissues during embryonic and postnatal development. The expression profile in the kidney is particularly dynamic with the ability to cause recombination in mesangial cells at one time of induction and podocytes at another time. These features make the Tcf21-driven inducible Cre line (Tcf21(iCre) ) a valuable genetic tool for spatiotemporal gene function analysis and lineage tracing of cells in the heart, kidney, cranial muscle, and gonads.
Tcf21是II类bHLH家族成员，在肺、肾、性腺、脾脏和心脏的形成中起重要作用。在此，我们报道了一种小鼠品系的应用，该品系在Tcf21基因座靶向插入了他莫昔芬诱导型Cre重组酶MerCreMer。这种小鼠品系将允许在表达Tcf21的细胞中诱导表达Cre重组酶。使用ROSA26报告基因小鼠，我们表明在胚胎和出生后发育过程中，Cre重组酶在多个表达Tcf21的组织中被特异性且强烈地激活。肾脏中的表达谱特别动态，在一次诱导时能够在系膜细胞中引起重组，而在另一次诱导时能够在足细胞中引起重组。这些特性使Tcf21驱动的诱导型Cre品系（Tcf21(iCre)）成为用于心脏、肾脏、颅肌和性腺中细胞的时空基因功能分析和谱系追踪的有价值的遗传工具。
