Tg(Nefh/EGFP)1Eyer

The transgene comprises ~15 kb of the mouse neurofilament, heavy polypeptide (Nefh) gene - extending from ~3 kb upstream of the translation initiation codon to the middle of exon 4 - joined in-frame to the EGFP coding sequence, which is followed by the SV40 polyadenylation signal and a neomycin resistance cassette. The encoded fusion protein lacks a major part of the NEFH carboxyl (C-) terminal domain, including only 45 lysine-serine-proline (KSP) repeats from the beginning of the C-terminal. EGFP signal is detected specifically in neurons throughout the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system of transgenic mice, especially strongly in the optic nerve, medulla and sciatic nerve, and is transported down axons of motor neurons, colocalizing with alpha-bungarotoxin at neuromuscular junctions. No expression is observed in astrocytes or Schwann cells nor in any organ outside the nervous system that has been examined. (J:182279)