Double Transgenic Mice Crossed GFP-LC3 Transgenic Mice With αMyHC-mCherry-LC3 Transgenic Mice Are a New and Useful Tool to Examine the Role of Autophagy in the Heart

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Background: The involvement of autophagy in heart disease has been reported. Transgenic mice expressing GFP-LC3 have been a useful tool in detecting autophagosomes systemically. It is difficult to differentiate increased formation of autophagosomes from decreased clearance of autophagosomes in the heart using GFP-LC3 mice. Methods and Results: We generated transgenic mice expressing mCherry-LC3 under αMyHC promoter and crossed the mice with transgenic mice expressing GFP-LC3. The deference of resistance to acidic conditions between GFP and mCherry overcame the limitation. Conclusions: This method is an innovative approach to examine the role of autophagy and to analyze autophagosome maturation in cardiomyocytes. (Circ J 2010; 74: 203 - 206)