Transgenic mice expressing Cre-recombinase specifically in retinal rod bipolar neurons.

PURPOSE:To establish a transgenic mouse line that expresses Cre-recombinase in retinal rod bipolar cells for the generation of rod bipolar cell-specific knockout mutants. METHODS:The IRES-Cre-cDNA fragment was inserted into a 173-kb bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) carrying the intact Pcp2 gene, by using red-mediated recombineering. Transgenic mice were generated with the modified BAC and identified. The Cre-transgenic mice were crossed with and Z/EG reporter mice to detect Cre-recombinase activity. RESULTS:X-gal staining showed that strong Cre-recombinase activities were present in retinal inner nuclear layers and cerebellar Purkinje cells. Double staining with an anti-GFP antibody and an antibody (specific for retinal rod bipolar cells) revealed that Cre-recombinase activity localized exclusively to the rod bipolar cells in the retina. CONCLUSIONS:A mouse BAC-Pcp2-IRES-Cre transgenic line that expresses Cre-recombinase in retinal rod bipolar neurons has been established. Because mutations in some ubiquitously expressed genes may result in retinal degenerative diseases, the mouse strain BAC-Pcp2-IRES-Cre will be a useful new tool for investigating the effects of retinal rod bipolar cell-specific gene inactivation.

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