| First Author | Antonson P | Year | 2012 |
| Journal | Biochem Biophys Res Commun | Volume | 424 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 710-6 |
| PubMed ID | 22800760 | Mgi Jnum | J:186230 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5431243 | Doi | 10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.07.016 |
| Citation | Antonson P, et al. (2012) Generation of ERalpha-floxed and knockout mice using the Cre/LoxP system. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 424(4):710-6 |
| abstractText | Estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) is a nuclear receptor that regulates a range of physiological processes in response to estrogens. In order to study its biological role, we generated a floxed ERalpha mouse line that can be used to knock out ERalpha in selected tissues by using the Cre/LoxP system. In this study, we established a new ERalpha knockout mouse line by crossing the floxed ERalpha mice with Cre deleter mice. Here we show that genetic disruption of the ERalpha gene in all tissues results in sterility in both male and female mice. Histological examination of uterus and ovaries revealed a dramatically atrophic uterus and hemorrhagic cysts in the ovary. These results suggest that infertility in female mice is the result of functional defects of the reproductive tract. Moreover, female knockout mice are hyperglycemic, develop obesity and at the age of 4months the body weight of these mice was more than 20% higher compared to wild type littermates and this difference increased over time. Our results demonstrate that ERalpha is necessary for reproductive tract development and has important functions as a regulator of metabolism in females. |
