Generation of a CRF₁-Cre transgenic rat and the role of central amygdala CRF₁ cells in nociception and anxiety-like behavior.

ABSTRACT: Corticotropin-releasing factor type-1 (CRF₁) receptors are critical to stress responses because they allow neurons to respond to CRF released in response to stress. Our understanding of the role of CRF₁-expressing neurons in CRF-mediated behaviors has been largely limited to mouse experiments due to the lack of genetic tools available to selectively visualize and manipulate CRF₁⁺ cells in rats. Here, we describe the generation and validation of a transgenic CRF₁-Cre-^tdTomato rat. We report that Crhr1 and Cre mRNA expression are highly colocalized in both the central amygdala (CeA), composed of mostly GABAergic neurons, and in the basolateral amygdala (BLA), composed of mostly glutamatergic neurons. In the CeA,

SUBMITTER: Weera MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9033268 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature