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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

A Novel in vivo Gene Transfer Technique and in vitro Cell Based Assays for the Study of Bone Loss in Musculoskeletal Disorders
Published on: June 8, 2014
Transgenic mice that express Cre recombinase in osteoclasts
W S M Chiu1, J F McManus, A J Notini
1Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
Abstract:
To study the physiological control of osteoclasts, the bone resorbing cells, we generated transgenic mice carrying the Cre recombinase gene driven by either the tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) or cathepsin K (Ctsk) promoters. TRAP-Cre and Ctsk-Cre transgenic mouse lines were characterized by breeding with LacZ ROSA 26 (R26R) reporter mice and immunohistochemistry for Cre recombinase. The Cre transgene was functional in all lines, with Cre-mediated recombination occurring primarily in the long bones, vertebrae, ribs, and calvaria. Histological analyses of the bones demonstrated that functional Cre protein was present in 1) osteoclasts (Ctsk-Cre); 2) osteoclasts, columnar proliferating, and hypertrophic chondrocytes (TRAP-Cre line 4); and 3) round proliferating chondrocytes (TRAP-Cre line 3). In conclusion, we generated transgenic mouse lines that will enable the deletion of floxed target genes in osteoclasts, which will be valuable tools for studying the regulation of osteoclast function.
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