Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026
In Vivo Calcium Imaging in C. elegans Body Wall Muscles
Published on: October 20, 2019
Calbindin D(9k) knockout mice are indistinguishable from wild-type mice in phenotype and serum calcium level
Galina D Kutuzova1, Shirin Akhter, Sylvia Christakos
1Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin, 433 Babcock Drive, Madison, WI 53706-1544, USA.
Abstract:
Since the discovery of calbindin D(9k), its role in intestinal calcium absorption has remained unsettled. Further, a wide distribution of calbindin D(9k) among tissues has argued for its biological importance. We discovered a frameshift deletion in the calbindin D(9k) gene in an ES cell line, E14.1, that originated from 129/OlaHsd mice. We produced mice with the mutant calbindin D(9k) gene by injecting the E14.1 ES cell subline into the C57BL/6 host blastocysts and proved that these mice lack calbindin D(9k) protein. Calbindin D(9k) knockout mice were indistinguishable from wild-type mice in phenotype, were able to reproduce, and had normal serum calcium levels. Thus, calbindin D(9k) is not required for viability, reproduction, or calcium homeostasis.
