TRPC Knockout (KO) Mice and Mice with a Floxed Allele of TRPC Ion Channel Genes

Description:

TRPCs (Canonical Transient Receptor Potential Channels) are a group of non-selective cation channels that allow sodium and calcium into cells. There are seven different genes in mice that code TRPCs. The in vivo roles played by TRPCs as a whole are poorly understood and very little is known about the in vivo roles played by individual TRPCs nor the role of these channels in specific tissues or cells.

In this invention, mice with a floxed allele of TRPC3, TRPC5, or TRPC7 were generated. Knockout mice of TRPC3, TRPC5, or TRPC7 can be used to study the function of the respective genes. The knockout mice can then be used to identify TRPC3/TRPC5/TRPC7-dependent processes. When mice with a floxed allele of one of the TRPCs are crossed with mice expressing Cre recombinase, mice can be generated in which TRPC3 has been deleted. This can be done in a tissue specific manner.