Tissue Distribution of Cre Recombinase in Smooth Muscle Cell Specific Cre Transgenic Mice

A transgenic mouseSMA-Cre that expressing Cre recombinase in smooth muscle specifically was established. The SMA-Cre transgenic mice were crossed with ROSA26 mice to check the Cre mediated recombination in multiple tissues. LacZ staining was detected in smooth muscle cells of lung trachea esophagus stomach intestine uterus bladder vessels and in small subsets of cardiac and skeletal muscle cells. The result of LacZ staining suggested that the Cre recombinase was expressed in smooth muscle cells and could mediate the recombination between the LoxP sites in vivo.