Mice hemizygous for the BAC CX3CL1cherry transgene are viable and fertile. The BAC has been modified to replace exon 1 of Cx3cl1 (chemokine (C-X3-C motif) ligand 1) with an mCherry fluorescent protein. CX3CL1 is the ligand for the chemokine receptor, CX3CR1. mCherry fluorescence is observed in mature neurons in the hippocampus, striatum, and cortical layer II and in epithelial cell layers. Specifically, expression is seen in the lung in alveolar and bronchial epithelial cells, including Clara cells. In the kidney, mCherry is also seen in tubular epithelial cells and glomeruli in the kidney, and in goblet cells and cells along the proximal and distal gastrointestinal tract.
When CX3CL1cherry mice are bred to B6.129P-Cx3cr1tm1Litt/J mice (Stock No. 005582), which express GFP in monocytes, dendritic cells, NK cells, and brain microglia, double mutant mice are useful when studying the interface of CX3CL1 and CX3CR1 in tissues and live animals.
