Kocherlakota, S.; Baes, M. Benefits and Caveats in the Use of Retinal Pigment Epithelium-Specific Cre Mice. Int. J. Mol. Sci.2024, 25, 1293.
Kocherlakota, S.; Baes, M. Benefits and Caveats in the Use of Retinal Pigment Epithelium-Specific Cre Mice. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 1293.
Kocherlakota, S.; Baes, M. Benefits and Caveats in the Use of Retinal Pigment Epithelium-Specific Cre Mice. Int. J. Mol. Sci.2024, 25, 1293.
Kocherlakota, S.; Baes, M. Benefits and Caveats in the Use of Retinal Pigment Epithelium-Specific Cre Mice. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 1293.
Abstract
The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is an important monolayer of cells present in the outer retina forming a major part of the blood-retina-barrier (BRB). It performs many essential tasks for the maintenance of retinal integrity and function. With increasing knowledge of the retina, it is getting clearer that both common retinal disorders, like age related macular degeneration, and rare genetic disorders originate in the RPE. This calls for a better understanding of the functions of various proteins within the RPE. In this regard, mice enabling an RPE-specific gene deletion are a powerful tool to study the role of a particular protein within the RPE cells in their native environment, simultaneously negating any potential influences of systemic changes. Moreover, since the RPE cells interact closely with the adjacent photoreceptors, these mice also provide an excellent avenue to study the importance of a particular gene function within the RPE to the retina as a whole. In this review, we outline and compare the features of various Cre mice created for this purpose, allowing researchers a well-informed decision on the choice of Cre mouse to use in relation to their research needs.
Biology and Life Sciences, Biology and Biotechnology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
