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Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Genetic Modification and Recombination of Salivary Gland Organ Cultures
Published on: January 28, 2013
Cre-mediated recombination in the pituitary gland
L J Cushman1, H L Burrows, A F Seasholtz
1Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Abstract:
Organ-specific expression of a cre recombinase transgene allows for the analysis of gene function in a particular tissue or cell type. Using a 4.6 kb promoter from the mouse glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit (alphaGSU or Cga) gene, we have generated and characterized a line of transgenic mice that express cre recombinase in the anterior and intermediate lobes of the pituitary gland. Utilizing a cre-responsive reporter transgene, alphaGSU-cre transgene expression was detected in the pituitary primordium and in all five cell types of the adult anterior pituitary. alphaGSU-cre transgene activity was also detected in the cardiac and skeletal muscle. Little or no activity was evident in the gonads, adrenal glands, brain, ventromedial hypothalamus, or kidneys. The alphaGSU-cre transgenic mice characterized here will be a valuable tool for examining gene function in the pituitary gland.
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