NHLBI Transgenic Core

National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The main mission of the NHLBI Transgenic Core is assisting NIH scientists in generating genetically engineered animal models to support their research projects. Genome engineering technologies have been advancing at a rapid pace in recent years, especially the so-called CRISPR(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)-related methods have dramatically increased the efficiency for genetical model generation. Our core has devoted a significant portion of our efforts on keeping up with the latest technological developments and applying them to mouse models in a timely fashion. In the past year, our core has generated many dozens of knockout and knockin mouse lines for our core users. Most of these projects were completed using cutting edge CRISPR/Cas9 technologies, but we have continued to offer services using conventional genetic engineering and embryo micromanipulation methods, including generating transgenic mice using pronuclear microinjection, rederiving/resurrecting mouse lines using in vitro fertilization, and assessing stem cell differentiation propensities through teratoma formation assays. In addition, we have also spent a significant portion of our time and efforts on developing new capabilities, including using viral vectors for conduct gene-editing experiments in adult animals.