This transgenic strain expresses Cre under the control of the Lck (lymphocyte protein tyrosine kinase) promoter, enabling thymocyte-specific excision of loxP-flanked sequences of interest. Homozygous mice are viable and have no major defects.
When crossed with floxed Galnt13 mice (see Stock No. 006896), excision occurs at high efficiency in thymocytes. Splenic CD4+ T cells show excision at somewhat lower rates (66-83%).
The Lck gene is primarily expressed by T lymphocytes where it phosphorylates tyrosine residues of proteins involved with intracellular signaling pathways. Associating with CD4 and CD8, LCK is part of a cascade of responses to antigen that control the proliferation and activation of T cells. It plays a key role in the selection and maturation of developing T-cells in the thymus and in the activity of mature T-cells.
View cre expression characterization.
