TY - JOUR T1 - Off-target effects in transgenic mice: Characterization of Dopamine transporter (DAT)-Cre transgenic mouse lines exposes multiple non-dopaminergic neuronal clusters available for selective targeting within limbic neurocircuitry JF - eneuro JO - eNeuro DO - 10.1523/ENEURO.0198-19.2019 SP - ENEURO.0198-19.2019 AU - Maria Papathanou AU - Sylvie Dumas AU - Hanna Pettersson AU - Lars Olson AU - Åsa Wallén-Mackenzie Y1 - 2019/09/03 UR - http://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2019/09/03/ENEURO.0198-19.2019.abstract N2 - Transgenic mouse lines are instrumental in our attempt to understand brain function. Promoters driving transgenic expression of the gene encoding Cre recombinase are crucial to ensure selectivity in Cre-mediated targeting of floxed alleles using the Cre-Lox system. For the study of dopamine neurons, promoter sequences driving expression of the Dopamine transporter (Dat) gene are often implemented and several DAT-Cre transgenic mouse lines have been found to faithfully direct Cre activity to dopamine neurons.Significance statement DAT-Cre transgenic mouse lines have been particularly useful in resolving the diverse functions of the brain´s dopamine systems. Here we report DAT-Cre-driven reporter gene expression in cell bodies of non-dopaminergic limbic brain areas, including the lateral septum, the amygdala and the lateral habenula. Co-labeling analysis identified that these DAT-Cre neurons were glutamatergic or GABAergic. Injection of viral-genetic constructs verified the activity of the DAT-Cre transgene in the adult brain, and also enabled identification of projection patterns. This study proposes a new angle by which available DAT-Cre transgenic mice can be implemented as tools for driving targeting to a restricted number of non-dopaminergic neurons of limbic neurocircuitry. ER -