mammary specific Cre mouse lines for conditional alleles
A floxed Target allele paired with Cre gives spatial control that whole body knockouts cannot offer. Labs use this approach to separate developmental roles from adult homeostasis, to model human somatic mutations, and to align with clinical presentations where disease begins in one organ. For mammary work, plan Cre specificity, reporter crosses, and baseline phenotyping before you scale.
Drivers used in mammary programs
Conditional knockout keeps mammary as the experimental theater while the rest of the animal retains 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. Knockin and humanized formats preserve regulatory context at the endogenous locus. For mammary focused programs, that matters when expression timing, splice isoforms, or allele dosage drive biology. Random integration transgenics can still help, but targeted alleles usually give cleaner pharmacology readouts.
- MMTV-Cre
Constitutive recombinase activity in the labeled lineage under this promoter system.
Frequently asked questions
What does mammary specific Cre mean?
mammary specific Cre drivers recombine floxed alleles primarily in that lineage. Practical work still demands reporter crosses to verify efficiency in your facility because genetic background and copy number nudge leak profiles.
Should I use inducible CreERT2 for mammary studies?
Inducible systems help when developmental deletion confounds adult phenotypes or when you need tight timing around injury or tumor onset. Tamoxifen protocols carry their own controls, which we document in project planning.
Where do I find floxed models to pair with these drivers?
Our catalog lists floxed conditional lines by gene. If your favorite target is not listed, we quote custom flox builds and crossing plans so you reach cohort size on a clear schedule.