Generation of Pmel‐dependent conditional and inducible Cre‐driver mouse line for melanocytic‐targeted gene manipulation

Abstract

Melanocytes are melanin pigment-producing cells responsible for skin, hair, and eye pigmentation. Melanocytes also reside in the inner ear and heart, where they play important roles in maintaining auditory and cardiac functions (Levin et al., 2009;Tachibana, 1999).During development, precursors for pigment-producing melanocytes (melanoblasts) emerge in the neural crest and migrate throughout the embryo toward specific body locations where they finally reside.In mice, melanoblasts predominantly migrate into the developing hair follicles, where they form the hair follicle pigmentary unit together with surrounding keratinocytes and dermal cells to maintain the regenerative hair pigmentation cycle throughout life (Nishimura et al., 2002). Hair pigmentation is mediated by the melanogenic

Benefits and Caveats in the Use of Retinal Pigment Epithelium-Specific Cre Mice

“…Most recently, another Cre mouse model has been generated using the tetracyclineinducible Pmel gene promoter, which codes for premelanosome protein [71], which is important in the early stages of melanosome biogenesis. These mice were generated with the purpose of obtaining an inducible gene knockout not just specifically in the RPE, but in all the melanocytes.…”