FIGURE 1.

GFAP promoter-driven inducible caspase 9 selectively targets astrocytes. (A) Diagram of the construct used to generate the GFAP-iCP9 transgenic animals. The mouse GFAP promoter (mGFAP) drives expression of iCP9 and an IRES-linked DsRed reporter. (B) DsRed expression was targeted to astrocytes throughout the CNS. Consecutive sections through the corpus callosum, hippocampus and cerebellum of GFAP-iCP9 animals labeled with antibodies to DsRed (top row, B) and GFAP (bottom row, B’). The patterns of labeling were highly aligned. (C) Coronal sections through the corpus callosum of GFAP-iCP9 mice co-labeled with antibodies to DsRed (red) and GFAP (C¹), Sox10 (C²), and CC1 (C³) in green. The majority of GFAP+ cells expressed DsRed. By contrast, no Sox10 or CC1+ cells expressed detectable DsRed. (D) Coronal section through the frontal cortex of GFAP-iCP9 animals double labeled with antibodies to DsRed (red) and NeuN (green). No NeuN+ cells expressed detectable DsRed. Scale bars: (B) 100 μm; (C) 20 μm; (D) 12.5 μm.