July 2013 Cre-mediated recombination in villus epithelial cells of the intestine

mouse_of_month_201307

Cre-mediated recombination in villus epithelial cells of the intestine

C57BL/6N-Tg(Vil1-cre)2Utr/Rbrc RBRC03801

mn1307_0101
Small intestine of 8-week-old mice produced by mating ROSA26 reporter mice with Vil1-Cre mice
showing β-galactosidase expression due to Cre recombinase activity.

 

Villin, first isolated from chicken intestinal epithelial cells and later from mammalian species, is an actin-binding protein that concentrates in the microvilli and is expressed in the digestive tract. This protein mediates Ca2+-induced rearrangement of microvillar actin bundles in response to cellular injury. Villin also plays a prominent function in colonic wound repair and mouse survival in a model of experimentally induced colitis [1, 2]. We have derived mice that express Cre recombinase efficiently in the intestinal compartment. A transgenic construct containing a sequence encoding Cre recombinase under the control of the mouse villin 1 promoter fragment (intestinal stem cell-specific promoter region) derived from a BAC library was microinjected into C57BL/6NCrlCrlj fertilized eggs. Analysis of the cell-type-specific expression of Cre recombinase is underway, and we encourage users of Cre mice to provide feedback on their site-specific expression to enrich the value of data available to the research community.

 

Depositor : RIKEN BioResource Center
References : [1] Athman R, Louvard D, Robine S. The epithelial cell cytoskeleton and intracellular trafficking. III. How is villin involved in the actin cytoskeleton dynamics in intestinal cells? Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol.; 283(3):G496-502, 2002.
[2] Ferrary E, Cohen-Tannoudji M, Pehau-Arnaudet G, Lapillonne A, Athman R, Ruiz T, Boulouha L, El Marjou F, Doye A, Fontaine JJ, Antony C, Babinet C, Louvard D, Jaisser F, Robine S. In vivo, villin is required for Ca(2+)-dependent F-actin disruption in intestinal brush borders. J Cell Biol.; 146(4):819-30, 1999.

 

 



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