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Zhong Y, Tan X, Wang X, Jiang J, Song K, Chen H, Zhang H, Wang Z, Zhang L, Guo C, Liang H, Yu W. Generation of Vgll4-DreER transgenic mouse for visualizing and manipulating VGLL4-expressing cells in vivo. J Biochem Mol Toxicol 2023; 37:e23435. [PMID: 37352117 DOI: 10.1002/jbt.23435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
Vestigial like family member 4 (VGLL4), a member of the Hippo pathway, is a transcriptional cofactor involved in many biological processes, such as tumor progression, postnatal heart growth, and muscle regeneration. However, the VGLL4 expression pattern in vivo remains unclear. To detect and trace Vgll4-expressing cells and their progeny, we generated and characterized a new tamoxifen-inducible Dre knock-in mouse line, Vgll4-DreER. This mouse line expressed DreER (Dre recombinase fused to the estrogen receptor) under the control of the endogenous Vgll4 promoter. After crossing the Vgll4-DreER mouse line with the Dre-responsive reporter H11-rRFP, Dre-mediated recombination in the tissue was monitored on the basis of red fluorescent protein (RFP) signals, which indicated the distribution of VGLL4-positive cells in vivo. Our data revealed that VGLL4 is widely expressed in various cell types at embryonic and neonatal stages. After comparison with our previously reported Vgll4-GFP mouse, we found that the RFP signal profile was wider than the green fluorescent protein (GFP) pattern, indicating that Vgll4-DreER is more sensitive for labeling VGLL4-expressing cells. We next used a dual-recombination system to simultaneously label VGLL4- and keratin 5 (KRT5)-positive cell populations, and no crosstalk was observed in the Krt5-CreER;Vgll4-DreER;R26-rGlR mice. Taken together, the Vgll4-DreER mouse line is a valuable new tool for examining the precise VGLL4 expression profile and conditional manipulating of VGLL4-expressing cells and their progeny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yazhu Zhong
- Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, People's Hospital of Yangjiang, Yangjiang, Guangdong, China
| | - Xixi Tan
- Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, People's Hospital of Yangjiang, Yangjiang, Guangdong, China
| | - Xiaodong Wang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jun Jiang
- School of Life Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Kai Song
- School of Life Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Haiyuan Chen
- Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, People's Hospital of Yangjiang, Yangjiang, Guangdong, China
| | - Hao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, People's Hospital of Yangjiang, Yangjiang, Guangdong, China
| | - Zuoyun Wang
- Department of Human Anatomy and Histoembryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lei Zhang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Chunming Guo
- School of Life Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Hongfeng Liang
- Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, People's Hospital of Yangjiang, Yangjiang, Guangdong, China
| | - Wei Yu
- Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, People's Hospital of Yangjiang, Yangjiang, Guangdong, China
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Li R, Cai Y, Lin H, Dong L, Tang M, Lang Y, Qi Y, Peng Y, Zhou B, Yang G, Teng Y, Yang X. Generation of an Ihh-mKate2-Dre knock-in mouse line. Genesis 2022; 60:e23488. [PMID: 35765931 DOI: 10.1002/dvg.23488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Indian hedgehog (Ihh), a member of the Hh family, plays important roles in vertebrate development and homeostasis. To improve our understanding of the function of Ihh-expressing cells and their progeny as well, we generate an Ihh-mKate2tomm20 -Dre knock-in mouse line that can label Ihh-positive cells with a fluorescence protein mKate2 and trace Ihh-positive cells and their progeny via Dre-mediated recombination. Consistent with previous reports, we verified Ihh expression in hypertrophic chondrocytes of growth plate and granulosa cells of ovarian follicles by mKate2 immunostaining, and meanwhile confirmed Dre activity in these cells via a Dre reporter mouse line Rosa26-confetti2. We also found, for the first time, that Ihh can mark some cell types, including retinal ganglion cells, Purkinje cells, and gallbladder epithelial cells. Taken together, the Ihh-mKate2tomm20 -Dre mouse is a genetic tool for examining the precise expression profile of Ihh and tracing Ihh-expressing cells and their progeny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongyu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Yunting Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Huisang Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Lei Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Mingchuan Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Yiming Lang
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Yini Qi
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Yanli Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Zhou
- The State Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Guan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Teng
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Proteomics, Beijing Proteome Research Center, National Center for Protein Sciences (Beijing), Beijing Institute of Lifeomics, Beijing, China
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Abstract
Site-specific recombinases (SSRs) such as Cre are widely used in gene targeting and genetic approaches for cell labeling and manipulation. They mediate DNA strand exchange between two DNA molecules at dedicated recognition sites. Precise understanding of the Cre recombination mechanism, including the role of individual base pairs in its loxP target site, guided the generation of mutant lox sites that specifically recombine with themselves but not with the wild type loxP. This has led to the development of a variety of combinatorial Cre-dependent genetic strategies, such as multicolor reporters, irreversible inversions, or recombination-mediated cassette exchange. Dre, a Cre-related phage integrase that recognizes roxP sites, does not cross-react with the Cre-loxP system, but has similar recombination efficiency. We have previously described intersectional genetic strategies combining Dre and Cre. We now report a mutagenesis screen aimed at identifying roxP base pairs critical for self-recognition. We describe several rox variant sites that are incompatible with roxP, but are able to efficiently recombine with themselves in either purified systems or bacterial and eukaryotic tissue culture systems. These newly identified rox sites are not recognized by Cre, thus enabling potential combinatorial strategies involving Cre, Dre, and target loci including multiple loxP and roxP variants.
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