Comparative overview of brain-wide tetracycline-transactivator expression

Tabular overview (csv format) of brain-wide reporter expression mapped in five commonly used tetracycline-transactivator (tTA) driver lines: neuropsin (Nop); L7/Purkinje cell protein 2 (Pcp2); Pituitary homeobox 3 (Pitx3); cellular prion protein (Prnp), and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIa (Camk2a). This analysis is derived from microscopic brain images taken from 12 driver-reporter constructs (DOIs for source data sets are specified in data descriptor file listed below; hbp-00170\_Comparative\_DataDescriptor\_v1p1.txt) in which the different promoters regulate the expression of the E. coli derived LacZ reporter gene encoding β-galactosidase, visualized histologically using X-gal (5-Bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl β-d-galactopyranoside) as a substrate. Labelling was observed in microscopic images that were spatially registered to the Allen Mouse Common Coordinate Framework (v2; mouse.brain-map.org). The density of labeling was assessed by two independent researchers using a semi-quantitative grading system from 0 – 4, introduced in Yetman et al., Brain Struct Funct 221:2231-49, 2016. Here grade 0 represents absence of labeled cells (less than 1 per 0.01 mm2), grade 1 - low density (few cells, possible to count), grade 2 - medium density (several cells that can be individually discerned, but not readily counted), grade 3 - high density (many labeled cells with large degree of overlap), and grade 4 - very high density (where individual cells cannot be discerned). For each promoter-tTA line one representative case was semi-quantitatively scored and results verified in the other cases. Scores did not vary more than 1 grade between cases or researchers in any regions. The highest numbers were reported. If the density of labeling was found to vary substantially within a region, the highest observed score was recorded.