These transgenic mice carry loxP-flanked EGFP/Stop and attenuated diptheria toxin A (DTA) chain under the regulatory control of the mouse Aldh1l1 promoter.
In the absence of cre recombinase, Aldh1l1 promoter-active cells in the brain and spinal cord (the majority being astrocytes) express EGFP. When these animals are bred with a cre mouse line, cre-mediated recombination results in tissue-specific deletion of loxP-site flanked EGFP sequence, and subsequently turns on DTA to ablate DTA-expressing cells. This strain is useful for deciphering development and functions of astrocyte subpopulations. Hemizygotes are viable, fertile, and normal in size and do not exhibit physical or behavioral abnormalities.
Intercrosses with Pax3-cre mice (see Stock No. 005549) result in perinatal lethality (10% survivors observed versus 25% expected). The dorsal spinal cord (corresponding to the Pax3
domain) of surviving postnatal day 25 (P25) animals showed atrophy, reduction in the total number of Aldh1l1-expressing cells, loss of neuropil, and congested neurons.
