Gipc1flox/flox mice possess loxP sites flanking exon 2 of the GIPC PDZ domain containing family, member 1 Gipc1 gene. Gipc1, also known as Synectin, is a PDZ scaffold protein shown to be a key regulator in the formation of arterial vasculature. Mice that are homozygous for this allele are viable and fertile. When bred to mice that express tissue-specific Cre recombinase, resulting offspring will have exon 2 deleted in the cre-expressing tissues.
For example, when bred to B6.Cg-Tg(Tek-cre)12Flv/J mice (Stock No. 004128) expressing Cre Recombinase in endothelial cells, resulting offspring exhibit less branching of arterial trees in both the heart and kidneys, which appear smaller in diameter, and they have fewer artery-to-artery connections than those seen in littermate controls. They also have a decrease in the number of smaller arteries, and exhibit aneurysmal dilations of distal coronary arteries and tubular aneurysms.
