B6(Cg)-Crbn^tm1.1Jjh/J

Stock number: 017564
Research areas: Neurobiology Research, Research Tools

Description

These mice possess loxP sites flanking exons 3 and 4 of the cereblon (Crbn) gene and have applications in studies related to memory and learning.

Detailed description

Crbn (cereblon) is a target of immunomodulatory drugs, such as thalidomide, and plays an important role in central nervous system development. A nonsense mutation in the human cereblon gene is the cause of a type of autosomal recessive non-syndromic intellectual disability. These mice possess loxP sites on either side of exons 3 and 4 of the targeted gene. Mice that are homozygous for this allele are viable, fertile, normal in size and do not display any gross physical or behavioral abnormalities. When these mutant mice are bred to mice that express Cre recombinase, resulting offspring will have exons 3 and 4 deleted in the cre-expressing tissue(s).

When bred to a strain with Cre recombinase expression in the forebrain (see Stock No. 005359 for example), this mutant mouse strain may be useful in studies of non-syndromic mental retardation, memory and learning.

Development

A targeting vector containing a FRT site flanked PGK-Neo selection cassette and a loxP site was utilized in the construction of this mutant. This selection cassette was inserted 227 bp upstream of exon 3 of the targeted gene, and another loxP site was inserted 225 bp downstream of exon 4. This construct was electroporated into B6(Cg)-Tyr^c-2J/J derived CY2.4 embryonic stem (ES) cells. Correctly targeted ES cells were injected into C57BL/6 blastocysts. The resulting chimeric animals were crossed to FLP recombinase expressing transgenic mice, on the C57BL/6 genetic background, to remove the selection cassette. The mice were backcrossed to C57BL/6 for 3 generations. Upon arrival at The Jackson Laboratory, the mice were crossed to C57BL/6J (Stock No. 000664) at least once to establish the colony.

Allele

Symbol: Crbn^tm1.1Jjh
Name: targeted mutation 1.1, Joseph Higgins
MGI accession ID: MGI:5302187
Generation method: Targeted
Attributes: Conditional ready (e.g. floxed); No functional change
Marker symbol: Crbn
Marker name: cereblon
Chromosome: 6
Strain of origin: B6(Cg)-Tyr^c-2J
Molecular note: A targeting vector containing a FRT site flanked PGK-Neo selection cassette and a loxP site was utilized in the construction of this mutant. This selection cassette was inserted 227 bp upstream of exon 3 of the targeted gene, and another loxP site was inserted 225 bp downstream of exon 4. Flp-mediated recombination removed the neo cassette and left exons 3 and 4 floxed.