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Updated: May 19, 2026

Skeletal Phenotype Analysis of a Conditional Stat3 Deletion Mouse Model
Published on: July 3, 2020
[Construction of the skeletal muscle-specific TbetaR II knockout mice]
1Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Objective:
To generate the skeletal muscle-specific transforming growth factor beta receptor II (TbetaR II) gene knockout mice for the research on the function of the TbetaR II gene in skeletal muscles.
Methods:
TbetaR II (flox/flox) mice were generated using embryonic stem cell technology. The MCK-Cre mice were engineered containing Cre recombinase under the control of creatine kinase (MCK) muscle-specific promoter. TbetaR II (flox/flox) mice were crossed with MCK-Cre mice generating TbetaR II (flox/flox)/MCK-Cre double Tg mice. And then, TbetaR II (flox/wt) /MCK-Cre(+) double Tg mice were crossed with TbetaR II (flox/flox) mice to generate TbetaR II (flox/flox)/MCK- Cre(+) mice genetically ablating TbetaR II in cre-expressing skeletal muscle cells.
Results:
As predicted, mice lacking TbetaR II by gene targeting in skeletal muscles were generated first in the world using Cre/loxP system. TbetaR II null mutant mice were viable, fertile and showed apparently normal development.

