title: Conditional knockout mouse models of cancer.
abstract: In 2007, three scientists, Drs. Mario R. Capecchi, Martin J. Evans, and Oliver Smithies, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their contributions of introducing specific gene modifications into mice. This technology, commonly referred to as gene targeting or knockout, has proven to be a powerful means for precisely manipulating the mammalian genome and has generated great impacts on virtually all phases of mammalian biology and basic biomedical research. Of note, germline mutations of many genes, especially tumor suppressors, often result in lethality during embryonic development or at developmental stages before tumor formation. This obstacle has been effectively overcome by the use of conditional knockout technology in conjunction with Cre-LoxP- or Flp-Frt-mediated temporal and/or spatial systems to generate genetic switches for precise DNA recombination. Currently, numerous conditional knockout mouse models have been successfully generated and applied in studying tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis. This review summarizes some conditional mutant mouse models that are widely used in cancer research and our understanding of the possible mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis.
authors.affiliation: Genetics of Development and Disease Branch, National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
authors.forename: Chu-Xia
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D009363:Neoplasm Proteins