Simultaneous deletion of floxed genes mediated by CaMKIIα-Cre in the brain and in male germ cells: application to conditional and conventional disruption of Goα

The Cre/LoxP system is a well-established approach to spatially and temporally control genetic inactivation. The calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II alpha subunit (CaMKIIα) promoter limits expression to specific regions of the forebrain and thus has been utilized for the brain-specific inactivation of the genes. Here, we show that CaMKIIα-Cre can be utilized for simultaneous inactivation of genes in the adult brain and in male germ cells. Double transgenic Rosa26(+/stop-lacZ)::CaMKIIα-Cre(+/Cre) mice generated by crossing CaMKIIα-Cre(+/Cre) mice with floxed ROSA26 lacZ reporter (Rosa26(+/stop-lacZ)) mice exhibited lacZ expression in the brain and testis. When these mice were mated to wild-type females, about 27% of the offspring were whole body blue by X-gal staining without inheriting the Cre transgene. These results indicate that recombination can occur in the germ cells of male Rosa26(+/stop-lacZ)::CaMKIIα-Cre(+/Cre) mice. Similarly, when double transgenic Gnao(+/f)::CaMKIIα-Cre(+/Cre) mice carrying a floxed Go-alpha gene (Gnao(f/f)) were backcrossed to wild-type females, approximately 22% of the offspring carried the disrupted allele (Gnao(Δ)) without inheriting the Cre transgene. The Gnao(Δ/Δ) mice closely resembled conventional Go-alpha knockout mice (Gnao(−/−)) with respect to impairment of their behavior. Thus, we conclude that CaMKIIα-Cre mice afford recombination for both tissue- and time-controlled inactivation of floxed target genes in the brain and for their permanent disruption. This work also emphasizes that extra caution should be exercised in utilizing CaMKIIα-Cre mice as breeding pairs.