Ishida Saeko, Taguchi Keiko, Iida Ryuya, Hattori Kosuke, Taketsuru Hiroaki, Yoshimi Kazuto, Yamamoto Masayuki, Mashimo Tomoji
Division of Animal Genetics, Laboratory Animal Research Center, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Tohoku University, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8573, Japan.
Exp Anim. 2025 Jul 11;74(3):328-334. doi: 10.1538/expanim.24-0174. Epub 2025 Jan 22.
Rats (Rattus norvegicus) have been widely utilized as model animals due to their physiological characteristics, making them suitable for surgical and long-term studies. They have played a crucial role in biomedical research, complementing studies conducted in mice. The advent of genome editing technologies has facilitated the generation of genetically modified rat strains, advancing studies in experimental animals. Among these innovations, Cre-driver rat models have emerged as powerful tools for spatiotemporal control of gene expression. However, their development and characterization remain less advanced compared to mouse models. In this study, we developed liver-targeting Cre knock-in rats and reporter knock-in rats to evaluate Cre recombinase expression profiles in different genetic contexts. Our results revealed that insertion orientation and promoter origin significantly influence Cre expression patterns. Notably, forward insertion of the Albumin (Alb) promoter-driven Cre sequence at the ROSA26 locus resulted in ubiquitous Cre expression, while reverse insertion confined Cre expression predominantly to the liver. Interestingly, Cre expression under an endogenous Alb promoter unexpectedly induced expression in non-liver tissues, which may suggest a potential link to the in vivo dynamics of albumin. These findings underscore the importance of rigorous characterization in Cre-based transgenic systems. By elucidating the roles of promoter origin, insertion site, and orientation, our study provides valuable insights for optimizing Cre-driver rat models. These findings pave the way for refining genetic strategies to enhance tissue specificity and reliability in functional genomics and disease modeling.
大鼠(褐家鼠)因其生理特征而被广泛用作模式动物,使其适用于外科手术和长期研究。它们在生物医学研究中发挥了关键作用,对在小鼠身上进行的研究起到了补充作用。基因组编辑技术的出现促进了转基因大鼠品系的产生,推动了实验动物研究的发展。在这些创新成果中,Cre驱动大鼠模型已成为在时空上控制基因表达的强大工具。然而,与小鼠模型相比,它们的开发和特性表征仍不太先进。在本研究中,我们开发了肝脏靶向性Cre基因敲入大鼠和报告基因敲入大鼠,以评估不同基因背景下Cre重组酶的表达谱。我们的结果表明,插入方向和启动子来源显著影响Cre的表达模式。值得注意的是,在ROSA26位点正向插入白蛋白(Alb)启动子驱动的Cre序列会导致Cre在全身表达,而反向插入则使Cre表达主要局限于肝脏。有趣的是,内源性Alb启动子驱动下的Cre表达意外地在非肝脏组织中诱导表达,这可能暗示了与白蛋白体内动态变化的潜在联系。这些发现强调了在基于Cre的转基因系统中进行严格表征的重要性。通过阐明启动子来源、插入位点和方向的作用,我们的研究为优化Cre驱动大鼠模型提供了有价值的见解。这些发现为完善基因策略以提高功能基因组学和疾病建模中的组织特异性和可靠性铺平了道路。
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