Abstract
Conditional gene targeting has revolutionized molecular genetic analysis of nuclear receptor proteins, however development and analysis of such conditional knockouts is far from simple, with many caveats and pitfalls waiting to snare the novice or unprepared. In this chapter, we describe our experience of generating and analyzing mouse models with conditional ablation of the androgen receptor (AR) from tissues of the reproductive system and other organs. The guidance, suggestions, and protocols outlined in the chapter provide the key starting point for analyses of conditional-ARKO mice, completing them as described provides an excellent framework for further focussed project-specific analyses, and applies equally well to analysis of reproductive tissues from any mouse model generated through conditional gene targeting.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank members of the Smith group past and present, and our wider collaborators for their efforts in developing and refining the protocols described in this chapter. We also thank Saloni Patel for providing the images used in Fig. 2.
Funding: The work described in this chapter was funded by a MRC Programme Grant Award (G1100354/1) to L.B.S.
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O’Hara, L., Smith, L.B. (2016). Development and Characterization of Cell-Specific Androgen Receptor Knockout Mice. In: McEwan, PhD, I. (eds) The Nuclear Receptor Superfamily. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1443. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3724-0_14
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