title: Tissue-specific transgenic and knockout mice.
abstract: Analysis of genetically engineered mice is crucial for our understanding of the in vivo function of genes and proteins in the whole organism. This includes inactivation of a gene or the generation of specific mutations. The development of knockout and transgenic technologies in the mouse, therefore, represents a powerful tool for elucidating gene function, for modeling of human diseases, and potentially for the evaluation of drugs. In particular, conditional gene targeting applying the Cre/loxP-mediated recombination system is increasingly used to evaluate the role of the gene of interest in a cell-type-specific or even inducible manner. The experimental steps start with the characterization of the gene locus, followed by construction of a vector, gene targeting in ES cells, and establishment of mouse lines carrying the desired mutation. These are then bred to transgenic mice expressing Cre recombinase in a tissue-specific manner, thus allowing gene inactivation in a cell type of interest.
authors.affiliation: Transgenic Animal Facility, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Andrée
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porret
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mérillat
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guichard
authors.forename: Friedrich
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beermann
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hummler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002678:Chimera / Q000235:genetics; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009928:Organ Specificity; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection; D019076:Transgenes / Q000235:genetics*