B6.129(Cg)-Vsx2^{tm3.1(cre)Kash}/TmjJ

Stock number: 039931
Product name: Chx10^Cre
Research areas: Developmental Biology Research, Neurobiology Research, Research Tools, Sensorineural Research

Description

Chx10^Cre knock-in/knock-out mice have a Cre recombinase sequence followed by a polyadenylation sequence inserted upstream of exon 1 of the Vsx2 gene. They may be useful for studying retinal progenitor cells during retinal development and motor coordination.

Detailed description

Chx10^Cre knock-in/knock-out mice have Cre recombinase sequence followed by a polyadenylation sequence upstream of exon 1 of the visual system homeobox 2 (Vsx2) gene. Insertion of cre abolishes endogenous Vsx2 gene expression. Vsx2 encodes a transcriptional regulator essential for establishing retinal progenitor cell identity. It is also expressed in CHX10 positive neurons in the spinal cord (V2a) and brain stem which are important for coordinating motor activity. Mice that are homozygous for this allele are viable and fertile and exhibit microphthalmia, while mice heterozygous for this allele do not exhibit microphthalmia. When Chx10^Cre mice are crossed with a strain containing loxP-flanked sequences Cre-mediated recombination will result in deletion of the floxed sequences in the Cre-expressing cells of the offspring. Cre expression in this mouse line is similar to endogenous Chx10 transcription within optic cup progenitor cells (E10.5) and at the onset of retinal neurogenesis (E12.5) as well as in the embryonic and adult spinal cord. They may be useful for studying retinal progenitor cells during retinal development and motor coordination.

Development

The Chx10^Cre targeting construct was designed to insert a Cre recombinase sequence followed by a polyadenylation sequence and an FRT-flanked neomycin resistance (neo) cassette upstream of exon 1 of the visual system homeobox 2 (Vsx2) gene. This construct was electroporated into 129S/SvEv-derived MM13 embryonic stem (ES) cells. Correctly targeted ES cells were injected into blastocysts and the resulting chimeric mice were bred to C57BL/6J mice (Stock No. 000664). Mice were then bred to Flp-expressing mice to remove the neo cassette and mice were subsequently bred to mice on a 129/Sv:CBA/J:C57BL/6J:DBA2/J mixed genetic background. These mice have been backcrossed for at least 12 generations to C57BL/6J mice by the donating lab (see SNP note below). Upon arrival at The Jackson Laboratory, sperm was cryopreserved. To establish our live colony, an aliquot of frozen sperm was used to fertilize C57BL/6J oocytes.

In 2025, a 48 SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) panel analysis, with 43 markers covering all 19 chromosomes and the X chromosome, as well as 5 markers that distinguish between the C57BL/6J and C57BL/6N substrains, was performed on the rederived living colony at The Jackson Laboratory Repository. One of the 43 markers throughout the genome was segregating with 129 on Chromosome 12 (~90.1 Mb), likely a passenger segment from Vsx2 mutation (~84.6 Mb).

Allele

Symbol: Vsx2^{tm3.1(cre)Kash}
Name: targeted mutation 3.1, Kamal Sharma
MGI accession ID: MGI:7750853
Generation method: Targeted
Attributes: Recombinase-expressing
Synonyms: Chx10::Cre; Chx10^cre; Chx10-cre
Marker symbol: Vsx2
Marker name: visual system homeobox 2
Marker synonyms: CHX10; Hox10; Hox-10; MCOP2; MCOPCB3; RET1
Chromosome: 12
Strain of origin: 129S/SvEv
Molecular note: A targeting vector was designed to insert an open reading frame encoding Cre-recombinase followed by a polyA signal and an FRT-flanked neomycin cassette at the SacII restriction site upstream of the first exon position within the Vsx2 gene. The neo cassette was removed by germline deletion.