These Smad4Co floxed mutant mice possess loxP sites flanking exon 8 of the MAD homolog 4 (Smad4) gene. Mice that are homozygous for this allele are viable, fertile, normal in size and do not display any gross physical or behavioral abnormalities. SMAD4 is a member of a family of intracellular signaling mediators and plays a role as a tumor suppressor. SMAD4 is involved in growth control and transcriptional regulation during development by transmitting signals from the cell surface to the nucleus via the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) and bone morphogenic protein (BMP) signaling system. When these mutant mice are bred to mice expressing Cre recombinase, resulting offspring will have exon 8 deleted in cre-expressing tissues. This strain may be useful for studying cell proliferation and tumor suppression. For example, when crossed to a strain expressing Cre recombinase in the pancreas, this mutant mouse strain may be useful in studies of pancreas ductal abnormalities and carcinoma.
For example, when bred to B6;SJL-Tg(Krt1-15-cre/PGR)22Cot/J mice (Stock No. 005249) expressing RU486 inducible Cre recombinase in epithelial stem cells in the bulge region of the hair follicle, offspring develop hair loss and enlarged sebaceous glands.
