Inhibin α‐iCre mice: Cre deleter lines for the gonads, pituitary, and adrenal

To expand our knowledge of reproductive function, Cre lines to conditionally knockout essential genes in the mouse gonads were generated. Three transgenic lines of inhibin‐α‐iCre mice were designed by fusing the mouse inhibin‐α promoter with a codon‐improved Cre recombinase (iCre). α‐iCre‐line‐3 expressed high levels of Cre in Sertoli and Leydig cells of the testis and low levels in other tissues, making line 3 an appropriate deleter line for genes expressed in somatic cells of the testis. In contrast, α‐iCre‐line‐1 expressed high levels of Cre in granulosa and theca cells of the ovary and very low levels in other tissues, making line 1 a suitable deleter line for genes expressed in somatic cells of the ovary. A third line, α‐iCre‐line‐2, had low levels of Cre in the gonads but high levels in anterior pituitary and adrenal medulla. These lines could be useful to understand reproduction and other processes by establishing conditional knockout mouse models. genesis 44:183–188, 2006. Published 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.