Transgenic labeling of parvalbumin-expressing neurons with tdTomato

T Kaiser; J T Ting; P Monteiro; G Feng

doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.08.036

Transgenic labeling of parvalbumin-expressing neurons with tdTomato

Neuroscience. 2016 May 3:321:236-245. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.08.036. Epub 2015 Aug 28.

Authors

T Kaiser¹, J T Ting², P Monteiro³, G Feng⁴

Affiliations

¹ McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
² McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Human Cell Types Department, Allen Institute for Brain Science, 551 North 34th Street, Seattle, WA 98103, USA.
³ McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; PhD Program in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (PDBEB), Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
⁴ McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

Parvalbumin (PVALB)-expressing fast-spiking interneurons subserve important roles in many brain regions by modulating circuit function and dysfunction of these neurons is strongly implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and autism. To facilitate the study of PVALB neuron function we need to be able to identify PVALB neurons in vivo. We have generated a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenic mouse line expressing the red fluorophore tdTomato under the control of endogenous regulatory elements of the Pvalb gene locus (JAX # 027395). We show that the tdTomato transgene is faithfully expressed relative to endogenous PVALB expression throughout the brain. Furthermore, targeted patch clamp recordings confirm that the labeled populations in neocortex, striatum, and hippocampus are fast-spiking interneurons based on intrinsic properties. This new transgenic mouse line provides a useful tool to study PVALB neuron function in the normal brain as well as in mouse models of psychiatric disease.

Keywords: BAC; interneuron; parvalbumin; psychiatric disorders; tdTomato; transgenic.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Action Potentials
Animals
Brain / metabolism
Genes, Reporter
Interneurons / metabolism*
Interneurons / physiology*
Luminescent Proteins / genetics*
Luminescent Proteins / metabolism
Mice, Transgenic
Parvalbumins / metabolism*
Transgenes

Substances

Luminescent Proteins
Parvalbumins

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding