Mouse Cre Models for the Study of Bone Diseases

• Published in: Current osteoporosis reports Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 466 - 477
• Main Authors: Dallas, Sarah L., Xie, Yixia, Shiflett, Lora A., Ueki, Yasuyoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2018
• Subjects: Animals; Bone Diseases - genetics; Bone Diseases - metabolism; Disease Models, Animal; Epidemiology; Gene Knockout Techniques; Genetics (M Johnson and S Ralston; Integrases - genetics; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Orthopedics; Osteoclasts - metabolism; Osteocytes - metabolism; Section Editors; Topical Collection on Genetics; Conditional knockout; Cre-loxP; Osteoclast; Bone; Osteocyte; Cre recombinase
• ISSN: 1544-1873; 1544-2241
• DOI: 10.1007/s11914-018-0455-7

Purpose Transgenic Cre lines are a valuable tool for conditionally inactivating or activating genes to understand their function. Here, we provide an overview of Cre transgenic models used for studying gene function in bone cells and discuss their advantages and limitations, with particular emphasis on Cre lines used for studying osteocyte and osteoclast function. Recent Findings Recent studies have shown that many bone cell-targeted Cre models are not as specific as originally thought. To ensure accurate data interpretation, it is important for investigators to test for unexpected recombination events due to transient expression of Cre recombinase during development or in precursor cells and to be aware of the potential for germ line recombination of targeted genes as well as the potential for unexpected phenotypes due to the Cre transgene. Summary Although many of the bone-targeted Cre-deleter strains are imperfect and each model has its own limitations, their careful use will continue to provide key advances in our understanding of bone cell function in health and disease.