Details on the generation and characterization of CNP-hEGFR transgenic mice have been previously reported30,15. Genotyping of the mice was performed by PCR15. Robust hEGFR expression was detected in total brain and spinal cord lysates from adult brain by using monoclonal anti-human EGFR antibody to probe Western blots after immunoprecipitation with a polyclonal anti-EGFR antibody14,15,30. Consistent with the idea that the CNP promoter drives expression in OLs, hEGFR expression was detected in OL lineage cells of the SVZ, white matter and cerebral cortex in P8-P90 CNP-hEGFR mice, and in NG2+ progenitor cells of the SVZ15. Transgenic mice were backcrossed >4 generations onto C57BL/6. In the CNP-hEGFR mouse strain, the CNP promoter drives expression in NPCs and in the entire oligodendrocyte lineage; hEGFR expression was detected at both P8 and P90 in NG2+ progenitors of the SVZ, and in NG2+ progenitors and oligodendrocytes of the white and gray matter14,15. The mouse strain expressing the hGFAP-EGFP (kind gift of F. Kirchhoff, Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Goettingen, Germany) was previously characterized31. The EGFR-mutant mouse (waved-2 mutation; Wa2)32 was obtained from Jackson Labs
