Generation of Nkx2-5/CreER transgenic mice for inducible Cre expression in developing hearts.

ABSTRACT: Nkx2-5 is a homeobox-containing transcriptional regulator that serves as one of the earliest markers of cardiac lineage commitment. To study the role of Nkx2-5-expressing progenitors at specific time points in cardiac development, we have generated a novel and inducible NKX2-5 mouse line by knocking in a CreER cassette into the Nkx2-5 genomic locus, while preserving the endogenous Nkx2-5 gene to avoid haploinsufficiency. We evaluated the specificity and efficiency of CreER activity after 4-OHT injection by crossing Nkx2-5^CreER/+ mice with a Rosa26^tdT/+ reporter strain. Our immunohistochemistry results confirmed Cre-induced tdTomato expression specifically in cells expressing Nkx2-5. These cells were mainly cardiomyocytes and were observed in the embryonic heart as ear

SUBMITTER: Ranjbarvaziri S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5568924 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature