These mice possess loxP sites flanking exon 1 of the X-linked androgen receptor (Ar) gene. AR is a nuclear transcription factor expressed in Sertoli cells which becomes activated by binding to testosterone or dihydrotestosterone. AR is required for male embryonic sexual differentiation, the development of male sexual characteristics, and the regulation of spermatogenesis. Homozygous females and hemizygous males are viable and fertile. When these mutant mice are bred to mice that express Cre recombinase, resulting offspring will have exon 1 deleted in cre-expressing tissues, abolishing gene function.
For example, breeding these mice to 129S.FVB-Tg(Amh-cre)8815Reb/J mice (Stock No. 007915), results in the production of a new variety of Sertoli cell AR knock out (SCARKO) mice. These mice are azoospermic and show a block in meiosis in Sertoli cells, with normal expression of Ar in Leydig cells and myoid epithelial cells.
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.
