TY - JOUR
T1 - Cre-mediated gene deletion in the mammary gland
AU - Wagner, Kay Uwe
AU - Wall, Robert J.
AU - St-Onge, Luc
AU - Gruss, Peter
AU - Wynshaw-Boris, Anthony
AU - Garrett, Lisa
AU - Li, Minglin
AU - Furth, Priscilla A.
AU - Hennighausen, Lothar
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Mark Spencer (USDA) for DNA microinjection, Theresa Hernandez (NCHGR) for animal husbandry and technical assistance and Brian O’Connell and Beverely Handelman (NIDR) for introducing us to the preparation of recombinant adenovirus. We also thank Gertraud Robinson and Xiuwen Liu for stimulating discussions and reading of the manuscript and Edmund Rucker for technical help. This work was supported in part by a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) fellowship and through funding by the DFG (WA-1119/1-1) to KUW. LS-O was supported by the National Cancer Institute of Canada.
PY - 1997/11/1
Y1 - 1997/11/1
N2 - To delete genes specifically from mammary tissue using the Cre-lox system, we have established transgenic mice expressing Cre recombinase under control of the WAP gene promoter and the MMTV LTR. Cre activity in these mice was evaluated by three criteria. First, the tissue distribution of Cre mRNA was analyzed. Second, an adenovirus carrying a reporter gene was used to determine expression at the level of single cells. Third, tissue specificity of Cre activity was determined in a mouse strain carrying a reporter gene. In adult MMTV-Cre mice expression of the transgene was confined to striated ductal cells of the salivary gland and mammary epithelial cells in virgin and lactating mice. Expression of WAP-Cre was only detected in alveolar epithelial cells of mammary tissue during lactation. Analysis of transgenic mice carrying both the MMTV-Cre and the reporter transgenes revealed recombination in every tissue. In contrast, recombination mediated by Cre under control of the WAP gene promoter was largely restricted to the mammary gland but occasionally observed in the brain. These results show that transgenic mice with WAP-Cre but not MMTV-Cre can be used as a powerful tool to study gene function in development and tumorigenesis in the mammary gland.
AB - To delete genes specifically from mammary tissue using the Cre-lox system, we have established transgenic mice expressing Cre recombinase under control of the WAP gene promoter and the MMTV LTR. Cre activity in these mice was evaluated by three criteria. First, the tissue distribution of Cre mRNA was analyzed. Second, an adenovirus carrying a reporter gene was used to determine expression at the level of single cells. Third, tissue specificity of Cre activity was determined in a mouse strain carrying a reporter gene. In adult MMTV-Cre mice expression of the transgene was confined to striated ductal cells of the salivary gland and mammary epithelial cells in virgin and lactating mice. Expression of WAP-Cre was only detected in alveolar epithelial cells of mammary tissue during lactation. Analysis of transgenic mice carrying both the MMTV-Cre and the reporter transgenes revealed recombination in every tissue. In contrast, recombination mediated by Cre under control of the WAP gene promoter was largely restricted to the mammary gland but occasionally observed in the brain. These results show that transgenic mice with WAP-Cre but not MMTV-Cre can be used as a powerful tool to study gene function in development and tumorigenesis in the mammary gland.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0030658840&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0030658840&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/nar/25.21.4323
DO - 10.1093/nar/25.21.4323
M3 - Article
C2 - 9336464
AN - SCOPUS:0030658840
VL - 25
SP - 4323
EP - 4330
JO - Nucleic Acids Research
JF - Nucleic Acids Research
SN - 0305-1048
IS - 21
ER -