Abstract
Dendritic cells (DCs) are involved in T cell activation via their uptake and presentation of antigens. In vivo function of DCs was analyzed using transgenic mouse models that express diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) or the diphtheria toxin-A subunit (DTA) under the control of the CD11c/Itgax promoter. However, CD11c+ cells are heterogeneous populations that contain several DC subsets. Thus, the in vivo function of each subset of DCs remains to be elucidated. Here, we describe a new inducible DC ablation model, in which DTR expression is induced under the CD11c/Itgax promoter after Cre-mediated excision of a stop cassette (CD11c-iDTR). Crossing of CD11c-iDTR mice with CAG-Cre transgenic mice, expressing Cre recombinase under control of the cytomegalovirus immediate early enhancer-chicken beta-actin hybrid promoter, led to the generation of mice, in which DTR was selectively expressed in CD11c+ cells (iDTRΔ mice). We successfully deleted CD11c+ cells in bone marrow-derived DCs in vitro and splenic CD11c+ cells in vivo after DT treatment in iDTRΔ mice. This mouse strain will be a useful tool for generating mice lacking a specific subset of DCs using a transgenic mouse strain, in which the Cre gene is expressed by a DC subset-specific promoter.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 559-563 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications |
Volume | 397 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2010 Jul 1 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Cre recombinase
- Dendritic cells
- Diphtheria toxin receptor
- Immunology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology