AAV with GFAP(0.7) promoter driven hChR2(C128S/D156A)-ECFP

This AAV expresses hChR2(C128S/D156A)-ECFP driven by an astrocyte GFAP(0.7) promoter.

This 0.7 Kb novel GFAP promoter was constructed by ligating several key regulatory elements of the 2.2Kb human GFAP promoter. It drives essentially the same expression pattern as the parental 2.2 Kb GFAP promoter but with two-fold greater activity.

hChR2 is a humanized version of ChR2 for mammalian expression. Wild-type ChR2, as well as a few of its mutations, provides the fastest excitation of the channelrhodopsins offered, and is widely used in in optogenetics techniques in neuroscience. hChR2(D156) mutant is another SFO mutation with a 6.9-minute open-state lifetime, and hChR2(C128S/D156A) double mutation creates a Stabilized Step Function Opsin (SSFO) with a stability of the active state up to 30 minutes.