If you study genetics, you’re probably already familiar with Cre floxed mice and their remarkable contributions to genetic research. These types of mice are responsible for the study of genes that, if mutated or inactivated, can lead to severe physiological changes and diseases that can even be fatal. Due to the similarities between the mouse genome and the human genome, there are numerous transgenic mouse models available today. Many of them can be used together with floxed models to generate the right type of conditional knockout for a certain study. Cre floxed mice can be extremely helpful in assisting scientists to not only to determine exactly what the role of a gene is and what went wrong when it was deactivated, but also in discovering new and improved treatments and drugs that could benefit countless lives in the near future.
Floxed mice are important because they can be generated as mouse models of a disease by conditionally eliminating a specific gene through the use of the Cre lox recombination system. What happens is that the gene in question is flanked by recombinant sites, such as loxP sites, which are then targeted through the Cre lox method to achieve a knockout. The mice then grow from embryo stage to adulthood, and can help scientists study the progression of the various diseases resulting from the knockout in vivo, and without the need to observe the same process in a live human subject. Other recombinant sites that can be used are FLP-FRT or Dre recombinase, which like Cre, are both highly efficient site specific recombinases and are frequently used in mouse-based research.
Generating Cre floxed mice can be done quite easily by the standards of genetic research. The most well-known method is the Cre lox recombination system, which is used to enable the Cre recombinase enzyme to catalyze the two loxP sites that flank the gene that has to be removed. Subsequently, the process can be improved and the versatility of the conditional knockouts can be greatly enhanced through the use of newly developed Cre enzymes. These enable researchers to accurately obtain conditional knockouts while saving time and achieving tissue-specific targeting.
Cre flox mice can be used in studying and treating many forms of cancer because cancer typically occurs when an important gene no longer functions. Such genes typically act on a certain part of the body and ensure that the cells in various tissues halt their growth after a specific amount of time to prevent the development of malignant tumors. When inactivated, these proteins are no longer there to regulate cell growth, and the result is a form of cancer specific to the tissue in question. Floxed mice can be created by targeting the gene in question and then their development can be studied, tests can be made and treatments can be tried out to see what might work best for treating the cancer or even preventing it entirely.
Many scientists today believe that conditional knockout mice play a significant role in the study of cancer and genetic diseases, as well as the goal to promote long lasting health and prevent the effects of old age. While some of these things still sound like science fiction, Cre flox mice will lead to unlocking many new secrets of the human genome that hold numerous important discoveries.
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