Aldo-keto reductase family 1 (AKR1C), is a superfamily of enzymes involved with the metabolism of hormones, including androgens, estrogens, and progesterone, as well as prostaglandins. AKR1C14, also known as 3&alpha;-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3&alpha;-HSD), is highly expressed in placental tissue, developing ovaries, testes and liver tissues. Mice that are homozygous for this floxed allele are viable and fertile. When bred to mice that express tissue-specific Cre recombinase, resulting offspring will have exons 7-9 deleted in the cre-expressing tissues. The donating laboratory utilized these Akr1c14-floxed mice to evaluate the effect of placental 3&alpha;-HSD depletion on cortical and cerebellar development. 3&alpha;-HSD is required for metabolism of allopregnanolone (ALLO), a positive allosteric modulator of GABAA receptors, and regulator of neurogenesis, cell survival, synaptogenesis and myelination in the central nervous system. After crossing the Akr1c14-floxed mice to Cyp19-Cre mice (<a href="http://www.informatics.jax.org/allele/MGI:3712298" target="_blank">MGI:3712298</a>), the donating investigator confirmed specific deletion of Akr1c14 in placental tissues as expected after Cre-mediated recombination. The resulting conditional knock-out mice demonstrated myelination defects in the cerebellum as well as notable behavioral deficits into adulthood, such as increased anxiety and decreased sociability compared to wildtype littermate controls. These Akr1c14-floxed mice may be useful for studying regulation of steroid hormone metabolism and function as it relates to the developing reproductive and nervous systems.

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Akr1c14-floxed mice possess loxP sites flanking exons 7-9 of the aldo-keto reductase family 1, member C14 (Akr1c14) gene. These mice may be useful for studying the role of Akr1c14 in regulating steroid hormone metabolism, as well as fetal brain and reproductive development.

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