title: Generation of a Twist1 conditional null allele in the mouse.
abstract: Twist1 is the mouse ortholog of TWIST1, the human gene mutated in Saethre-Chotzen syndrome. Previously, a Twist1 null allele was generated by gene targeting in mouse embryonic stem cells. Twist1 heterozygous mice develop polydactyly and a craniofacial phenotype similar to Saethre-Chotzen patients. Mice homozygous for the Twist1 null allele die around embryonic day 11.5 (E11.5) with cranial neural tube closure and vascular defects, hindering in vivo studies of Twist1 function at later stages of development. Here, we report the generation of a Twist1 conditional null allele in mice that functions like a wild-type allele but can be converted to a null allele upon Cre-mediated recombination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
authors.forename: You-Tzung
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Peter O
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Akinwunmi
authors.forename: Jian Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Oliver H
authors.initials: OH
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.forename: Richard R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Behringer
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018390:Gene Targeting; D019426:Integrases / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1; C067250:Twist1 protein, mouse; C045073:Cre recombinase; D019426:Integrases