Heritable and inducible gene knockdown in astrocytes or neurons in vivo by a combined lentiviral and RNAi approach.

ABSTRACT: Gene knockout by homologous recombination is a popular method to study gene functions in the mouse in vivo. However, its lack of temporal control has limited the interpretation of knockout studies because the complete elimination of a gene product often alters developmental processes, and can induce severe malformations or lethality. Conditional gene knockdown has emerged as a compelling alternative to gene knockout, an approach well-established in vitro but that remains challenging in vivo, especially in the adult brain. Here, we report a method for conditional and cell-specific gene knockdown in the mouse brain in vivo that combines Cre-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) with classical and lentivirus-mediated transgenesis. The method is based on the inducible expression of a silencing shor

SUBMITTER: Heitz F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3958736 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature