Cited by 48CRISPR and Genetic EngineeringAnimal Genetics and ReproductionNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

STOP floxing around: Specificity and leakiness of inducible Cre/loxP systems

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Stifter, Sebastian A., Greter, Melanie·2020·European Journal of Immunology

Abstract

Cre and CreER mouse strains are powerful tools that have proven invaluable for investigating the function of genes and for the fate‐mapping of cell populations. The fidelity of these systems however are becoming more and more contested. In this issue of the European Journal of Immunology, Van Hove et al. and Chappell‐Maor et al. carefully dissect the cellular specificities of two commonly used CreER mouse strains for the study of CNS macrophages; Cx3cr1CreER and Sall1CreER. Both studies elegantly highlight that CreER strains, as well as the "floxed" allele to be targeted, need to be carefully selected and properly characterized in order to ensure reproducible and robust data and interpretations. These studies are a cautionary tale for this technology, but also highlight that we must continuously question and improve our experimental approaches.

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Authors
Stifter, S. A., & Greter, M.
Affiliations
University of Zurich (CH)
Corresponding author
Greter, Melanie
Venue
European Journal of Immunology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2020-03
Volume
50
Issue
3
Pages
338-341
ISSN
  • 0014-2980 (ISSN-L)
  • 1521-4141
OpenAlex
W3009661270
Cited by
48
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4
FWCI
2.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • European Journal of Immunology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (PP00P3_170626, BSGI0_155832)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Animal Genetics and Reproduction
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
Cre-loxP system, CreER, CNS macrophages, fate mapping, conditional gene targeting
MeSH terms
Alleles, Animals, Macrophages, Sensitivity and Specificity, Transcription Factors, Integrases, Mice

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