HBB Mouse Models

Why Model HBB

HBB encodes the beta-globin subunit of adult hemoglobin; in mice the orthologous beta-globin genes include Hbb-bs and Hbb-bt. Beta-globin combines with alpha-globin and heme to form hemoglobin, which has been associated with oxygen transport in red blood cells.

Mutations in HBB cause sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia, and gene-addition and gene-editing therapies targeting the beta-globin pathway are in clinical use and development. Mouse models carrying human HBB alleles have been developed to study these disorders.

Model Applications

Humanized HBB models, including those carrying human sickle or thalassemia alleles, have been used to study beta-globin disorders and to evaluate gene-therapy and pharmacologic approaches in defined experimental settings.

Custom HBB Model Options

Engineered to your specifications, with molecular validation of the targeted allele and germline transmission guaranteed.

• Conventional knockout
• Conditional knockout
• Point mutation / knockin
• Reporter knockin
• Humanized
• Targeted transgenic

Sources

• How I treat sickle cell disease with gene therapy. Blood. 2024. doi:10.1182/blood.2024024519
• Ingram VM. Gene mutations in human haemoglobin: the chemical difference between normal and sickle cell haemoglobin. Nature. 1957. doi:10.1038/180326a0

Last reviewed: October 22, 2026 · Reviewed by: Paul Sheiffele

Related gene targets: Hba-a1 · Hbg1 · Bcl11a · Alas2