Targeting Tanycytes: Balance between Efficiency and Specificity

Abstract

Tanycytes are peculiar ependymoglial cells lining the bottom and the lateral wall of the third ventricle. For a decade, the utilization of molecular genetic approaches allowed us to make important discoveries about their diverse physiological functions. Here, I review the current methods used to target tanycytes, focusing on their specificity, their efficiency, their limitations, as well as their potential future improvements.

Keywords: Adeno-associated virus; Adenoviruses; CreERT2; Genetic manipulation; Hypothalamus; Median eminence; TAT-Cre; Tanycytes.