Production of a Mouse Line with a Conditional Crim1 Mutant Allele

摘要

Crim1 is a developmentally expressed, transmembrane protein essential for normal embryonic development. We generated mice engineered to contain a Crim1 conditional null allele by flanking exons three and four of Crim1 with unidirectional LoxP sites. After crossing Crim1^+/FLOX mice with a CMV-Cre line, a Crim1^+/Δflox colony was established after germline transmission of the deleted allele. We then analyzed genomic DNA, mRNA transcripts, and protein expression from Crim1^{Δflox/Δflox} null mice to confirm the nature of the genomic lesion. Crim1^{Δflox/Δflox} mice displayed phenotypes similar to those previously described for a Crim1 gene-trap mutant, Crim1^{KST264/KST264}, including perinatal lethality, digit syndactyly, eye, and kidney abnormalities, with varying penetrance and severity. The production of a conditional mutant allele represents a valuable resource for the study of the tissue-specific roles for Crim1, and for understanding the pleimorphic phenotypes associated with Crim1 mutation.