Shuttling of a functional cre recombinase gene into mammalian cells using a retroviral vector

Cre recombinase of bacteriophage PI has become a useful tool for molecular biological studies in vivo as well as in vitro. The Cre protein is an essential part of a system which catalyzes recombination between specific DNA sequence repeats called loxP sites. This recombination system allows for excision or inversion, depending on loxP orientation, Of DNA sequences flanked by loxP sites. In order to utilize the recombinase in mammalian systems, the retroviral vectors, LXSN and LXSHD, have been incorporated into the production of shuttle vectors and retroviral producing cell lines. The produced retroviruses allow for the transfer into and expression of the Cre recombinase in mammalian cells. These newly constructed retroviral particles will be a useful tool for inducing specific gene ablation in infective mammalian cells.Medicine, Faculty ofMedical Genetics, Department ofGraduat