Principles for the use of in vivo transgene techniques: overview and an introductory practical guide for the selection of tetracycline-controlled transgenic mice.
Transgenic mice are a beneficial tool that can allow researchers to investigate the roles of specific genes in physiology and disease. However, conventional transgenic mice have the limitation that constitutive expression of a transgene from the embryonic stage may affect the normal development of the mice or cause compensating effects. To overcome these disadvantages, tetracycline-controlled transgenic mice, which can express target gene products in a tissue-specific and time-dependent manner, have been developed. In this section, the principles of tetracycline-controlled systems are discussed first. In addition, useful information for generating transgenic mice using this system is introduced.
Department of Molecular and Pharmacological Neuroscience, Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Minami-ku Kasumi, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan, nsakai@hiroshima-u.ac.jp.
Norio
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Sakai
D000818:Animals; D020868:Gene Silencing / Q000187:drug effects; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D019076:Transgenes / Q000187:drug effects*
D011506:Proteins; D013752:Tetracycline