CRISPR/Cas9 as a Simple Technique for the Generation of Murine Knockout Models for Neuropsychiatric Diseases

The development of schizophrenia-like rodent models is still a major challenge for the study of this mental disorder. Schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders are thought to be triggered by multiple factors, and furthermore, the genetic component of schizophrenia is highly complex. The edition of one single gene for mimicking some of the symptoms of the disorder could cause unintended mutations that could influence animal's behavior making it difficult to study. Since 2013, CRISPR-Cas gene-editing technology has been a great improvement in the specificity of transgenic model generation because of its speed, efficiency, cost, and apparent ease. This protocol describes a simple method to generate a knockout mouse model using CRISPR technology, which can be applied to any gene presumably involved in the development of schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders.