Advancing Genetic Engineering Harnessing the Power of Cre Recombinase AAV Particles

Genetic engineering has revolutionized various fields, from agriculture to medicine. One powerful tool in this domain is Cre recombinase, a naturally occurring enzyme that allows precise manipulation of genetic material. Combining the utility of Cre recombinase with the delivery efficiency of adeno-associated virus (AAV) particles has opened up limitless possibilities in the field of genetic research and therapeutic development.

What are Cre Recombinase AAV Particles?

AAV is a non-pathogenic virus that has gained popularity as a gene delivery vehicle due to its ability to efficiently infect various cell types and persist long-term inside the host genome. Cre recombinase AAV particles are viral vectors carrying the gene encoding the Cre enzyme. By packaging Cre recombinase into AAV vectors, scientists can deliver the enzyme to specific cells or tissues, allowing for precise genetic manipulation in vivo.

The combination of Cre recombinase and AAV has revolutionized the field of gene manipulation by enabling conditional knockout or activation of genes. Creative Biogene has developed a variety of recombinase AAV particles that can help researchers perform gene manipulation faster and with greater specificity. Some popular Cre AAV particles are listed below, contact us to find more products of interest.

Application of Cre Recombinase AAV

Generation of conditional knockout mice

One common application of Cre recombinase is in the generation of conditional knockout mice. In these experiments, loxP sites are introduced into the genome of mice at specific locations using gene-targeting techniques. These loxP sites flank essential exons or regulatory elements of a target gene, rendering it nonfunctional. However, the knockout can be made conditional, meaning it can be activated or inactivated at specific times or tissues, by incorporating the Cre recombinase gene under the control of specific promoters. When Cre recombinase is expressed, it recognizes the loxP sites and catalyzes recombination between them, leading to the excision of the intervening DNA segment and resulting in the restoration of the target gene's functionality.

Study of gene function and cell lineage tracing

Another application of Cre recombinase is in the study of gene function and cell lineage tracing. By using Cre recombinase driven by tissue-specific promoters, researchers can selectively activate the expression of a reporter gene (e.g., lacZ, GFP, or fluorescent protein) that is placed downstream of a loxP-flanked "stop" cassette. By generating mice with loxP sites flanking a gene of interest, researchers can inject the Cre recombinase AAV into specific tissues or cell types to activate or inactivate the gene. This allows for precise investigation of the gene's role in development, physiology, or disease.

Cat. No.	Product Name
AAV00066Z	Cre-GFP Adeno-associated virus (AAV Serotype 9)
AAV00065Z	Cre-GFP Adeno-associated virus(AAV Serotype 8)
AAV00064Z	Cre-GFP Adeno-associated virus(AAV Serotype 6)
AAV00063Z	Cre-GFP Adeno-associated virus(AAV Serotype 5)
AAV00062Z	Cre-GFP Adeno-associated virus(AAV Serotype 2)
AAV00061Z	Cre-GFP Adeno-associated virus(AAV Serotype 1)

Induce the overexpression of a gene of interest

Cre recombinase can also be used to induce the overexpression of a gene of interest. By inserting a gene of interest downstream of a loxP-flanked "stop" cassette, Cre recombinase expression can lead to the removal of the "stop" cassette and subsequent expression of the gene. This technique allows for the controlled activation of gene expression at specific times or tissues.

Application Cases

Rapid and highly efficient inducible cardiac gene knockout in adult mice using AAV-mediated expression of Cre recombinase

Advancing Genetic Engineering Harnessing the Power of Cre Recombinase AAV Particles Fig. 1 Efficient, but unspecific induction of cardiac LacZ reporter gene expression after systemic injection of AAV9-MLC-Cre in adult ROSA26-LacZ mice.

Inducible gene targeting in mice using the Cre/LoxP system has become a valuable tool to analyse the roles of specific genes in the adult heart. AAV9 vectors expressing Cre under the control of a human cardiac troponin T promoter (AAV-TnT-Cre) enabled a highly efficient Cre/LoxP switching in cardiomyocytes 2 weeks after injection into 5- to 6-week-old ROSA26-LacZ reporter mice. Recombination efficiency was at least as high as observed with the Myh6-MerCreMer system. No adverse side effects were detected upon application of AAV-TnT-Cre.

Advancing Genetic Engineering Harnessing the Power of Cre Recombinase AAV Particles Fig. 2 AAV-TnT-Cre-mediated knockout of Srf, 4 weeks after injection into 5- to 6-week- old male homozygous Srf-flex1 mice.

Four weeks after AAV-TnT-Cre injection, a strong decrease in the cardiac expression of SRF mRNA and protein was observed. Furthermore, mice developed a severe cardiac dysfunction with increased interstitial fibrosis in accordance with the central role of SRF for the expression of contractile and calcium trafficking proteins in the heart. Therefore, AAV9-mediated expression of Cre is a promising approach for rapid and efficient conditional cardiac gene knockout in adult mice.

Reference

Werfel, S.; et al. Rapid and highly efficient inducible cardiac gene knockout in adult mice using AAV-mediated expression of Cre recombinase. Cardiovasc Res. 2014 Oct 1;104(1):15-23.

* For research use only. Not intended for any clinical use.

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Advancing Genetic Engineering Harnessing the Power of Cre Recombinase AAV Particles

What are Cre Recombinase AAV Particles?

Application of Cre Recombinase AAV

Application Cases

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