SCOT (Speed Conditional Gene Targeting)

Figure: ES chimera mice for conditional gene targeting.

A System for preparing genetically modified mice within half a year.
Department of Organ Regeneration Prof. Takayuki Shindo, M.D., Ph.D.

Genetically modified mice are valuable as models of human diseases, and they are currently indispensable analytical tools for the development of new drugs. It is vital that the gene-targeting mouse of the relevant gene is obtained as soon as possible since it influences the initial progress of the development of a drug.
Various steps are needed when generating a gene-targeting mouse. It usually takes a long time. Unfortunately, failure is often the result because of the complexity of the steps. The failure rate particularly increases in tissue/organ specific deletion. Therefore, producing conditional gene-targeting mice in a short period of time using a reliable method is desirable.
Our laboratory is mainly working on cardiovascular research using genetically-engineered mice as the main research tools. We have developed original materials and techniques for gene-targeting. We have invented a method for establishing a conditional gene-targeting mouse within half a year through the systematic combination of these materials and technologies. We named this system Speed Conditional Gene Targeting (abbreviation: SCOT). The value of SCOT will be immense in the research and development of new drugs.

Our homepage URL; http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~shindo/