Transgenic mice expressing Cre-recombinase specifically in retinal rod bipolar neurons.

Purpose: To establish a transgenic mouse line that expresses Cre-recombinase in retinal rod bipolar cells for the generation of rod bipolar cell-specific knockout mutants.

Methods: The IRES-Cre-cDNA fragment was inserted into a 173-kb bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) carrying the intact Pcp2 gene, by using red-mediated recombineering. Transgenic mice were generated with the modified BAC and identified.

Highly restricted expression of Cre recombinase in cerebellar Purkinje cells.

The Purkinje neuron, one of the most fascinating components of the cerebellar cortex, is involved in motor learning, motor coordination, and cognitive function. Purkinje cell protein 2 (Pcp2/L7) expression is highly restricted to Purkinje and retinal bipolar cells, where it has been exploited to enable highly specific, Cre recombinase-mediated, site-specific recombination. Previous studies showed that mice carrying a Cre transgene produced by insertion of Cre cDNA into a small 2.