Mice hemizygous for this NSE39-Cre transgene are viable, fertile, normal in size, and do not display any gross physical or behavioral abnormalities. These NSE39-Cre mice harbor a transgenic insert consisting of the Cre recombinase gene under the control of the promoter region of the rat neuron specific enolase (NSE or Eno2) gene. As such, Cre recombinase activity is directed to neurons with expression in many tissue types. When bred with mice containing a loxP-flanked sequence of interest, Cre-mediated recombination will result in deletion of the flanked genome.
Specifically, these NSE39-Cre transgenic mice may also be useful in studies of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) along with mice harboring a conditional (floxed) Smn1 gene (see Stock No. 006138 or Stock No. 006146).
Additional SMA strains expressing cre in striated muscle are available as well (see Stock No. 005936, Stock No. 006139, and Stock No. 006149).
NSE39-Cre transgenic mice are available on different genetic backgrounds (see Stock No. 005938, Stock No. 006297, and Stock No. 006663). In an attempt to offer alleles on well-characterized or multiple genetic backgrounds, alleles are frequently moved to a genetic background different from that on which an allele was first characterized. It should be noted that the NSE39-Cre phenotype could vary from that originally described on a mixed genetic background. We will modify the strain description if necessary as published results become available.
Importation of this model was supported by the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation. Creation and development was supported by the National Institute of Health and Medical Research of France (Inserm) and the Association Française contre les Myopathies (AFM). An additional help was provided by Families of SMA (U.S.A.) and Andrew's Buddies (U.S.A.).
