Transgenic Pax8-rtTA mice are viable and fertile. These mice express an optimized reverse tetracycline-controlled transactivator (rtTA2S-M2) protein under the control of the murine Pax8 promoter, which directs expression to proximal and distal tubules and the collecting duct system of both embryonic and adult kidney. The rtTA2S-M2 variant of rtTA contains five amino acid changes in the TetR moiety (S12G, E19G, A56P, D148E, and H179R) and a synthetic optimized transactivating domain, resulting in reduced basal activity and enhanced doxycycline sensitivity compared to wild-type rtTA. When mated to a second strain carrying a gene of interest under the regulatory control of a tetracycline-responsive promoter element (TRE or tetO), expression of the target gene in kidney cells is induced with administration of the tetracycline analog, doxycycline (dox). These Pax8-rtTA mice provide a Tet-On tool that allows the inducible expression of genes in renal tubular epithelial cells, and may be useful in studying renal disorders such as fibrosis or polycystic kidney disease, renal cancer, and Tuberous Sclerosis.
In an attempt to offer alleles on well-characterized or multiple genetic backgrounds, alleles are frequently moved to a genetic background different from that on which an allele was first characterized. It should be noted that the phenotype could vary from that originally described. We will modify the strain description if necessary as published results become available.
