Pten Conditional Knockout mouse — Albumin-Cre pairing
Antagonism of PI3K signaling is the defining activity of Pten, ortholog of human PTEN, whose phosphatase domain dephosphorylates the 3 position of PIP3 to regenerate PIP2, collapsing PDPK1 and AKT recruitment, while its C2 domain mediates membrane binding and a carboxy-terminal tail with a PDZ-binding motif and phosphorylation cluster controls stability and the open versus closed conformation. Protein phosphatase and nuclear scaffolding activities are separable from lipid phosphatase activity, which is why the G129E lipid-dead and C124S catalytically dead knockins remain more informative than a null for mechanism. Germline deletion is embryonic lethal, and heterozygotes develop a broad tumor spectrum reflecting exquisite dose sensitivity, so conditional nulls and hypomorphic alleles that titrate expression mirror PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome better than complete loss. Choose accordingly: conditional null with a prostate, mammary or neural Cre driver for tumor latency, missense knockin for variant interpretation and inhibitor pharmacology.
A floxed Pten allele paired with Cre gives spatial control that whole body knockouts cannot offer. People use it to separate developmental roles from adult homeostasis, to model somatic mutations, and to match disease that begins in one organ. For liver work, plan Cre specificity, reporter crosses, and baseline phenotyping before you scale.
Driver pairing
Hepatocyte directed Albumin promoter driven Cre. Widely used for liver specific recombination with minimal reported extrahepatic activity in most Cre reporter studies. Pair with floxed alleles for late stage metabolic and oncology experiments.
Catalog options
Conditional knockout focuses the experiment on liver while the rest of the animal keeps a wild type allele. That pattern mirrors somatic mutation in patients and avoids systemic compensation that can erase subtle phenotypes. It is often preferred when a germline null is lethal, weak, or confounded by developmental rescue.
| Model | Type | Category | Availability | Catalog # | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pten-Flox | Conditional Knockout | KO/CKO mice, disease model mice | live | CKO 18004 | Inquire |
Designing a Pten Conditional Knockout allele
Because Pten loss is dose-sensitive and haploinsufficiency already produces phenotypes, conditional work should be designed to compare heterozygous and homozygous recombined tissue in the same experiment rather than treating deletion as binary. Flank the exons encoding the catalytic core, including the CX5R signature of the phosphatase active site, so the deleted allele cannot yield a partially active fragment. Driver selection sets the disease: probasin-Cre for prostate, with the caveat that this line is transmitted through males and shows activity outside the prostate that must be documented; Nestin-Cre or GFAP-Cre for the macrocephaly, seizure and social behavior phenotypes; Villin-Cre for intestinal polyposis. The dominant confound in prostate is senescence induced by acute complete loss, which stalls lesions at high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, so include senescence-associated beta-galactosidase staining alongside phospho-AKT and phospho-S6 immunohistochemistry before concluding that a modifier suppressed tumorigenesis.
Pricing and quotes
The Pten Conditional Knockout lines listed above are catalog models. Send us the catalog number and our team confirms current availability, pricing, and whether the line ships cryopreserved or live.
If your study needs a Pten allele configuration that is not listed above, our scientific team designs and generates it. Model generation quotes return in about twenty four hours with milestones for genotyping, QC, and dispatch.
FAQ
What Pten Conditional Knockout mouse models are available?
When Pten Conditional Knockout lines are in catalog, we ship from inventory. If your configuration is not listed, we design the allele to order. Common paths include conditional knockout, constitutive knockout, humanized, knockin, and transgenic options, with documented germline transmission and United States QC.
Is Pten knockout embryonic lethal in mice?
It depends on background and allele design. Some Pten germline knockouts are viable. Others need conditional alleles or mixed backgrounds. We review publications and our own experience, then recommend floxed versus null before you commit.
Which Cre driver is best for albumin cre focused experiments?
Driver choice depends on onset timing, recombination efficiency, and known leak. We map your organ and cell type to a short list of proven Cre lines, then talk through reporter crosses and controls. Your note points to albumin cre, so we start driver selection there.
Do you ship live Pten animals?
When catalog lines are live, we ship with health certificates and QC documentation. If your exact combo is not listed, we quote a generation project with cryo or live dispatch depending on cohort timing and geography.
How do I request a quote for Pten?
Use the catalog inquire buttons or the request quote form. Include your allele goal, Cre plan if any, strain background, and cohort size. A PhD led team responds with pricing, milestones, and the fastest path to experimental animals.