The Past, Present, and Future of Genetically Engineered Mouse Models for Skeletal Biology

The ability to create genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) has exponentially increased our understanding of many areas of biology. Musculoskeletal biology is no exception. In this review, we will first discuss the historical development of GEMMs and how these developments have influenced musculoskeletal disease research. This review will also update our 2008 review that appeared in BONEKey, a journal that is no longer readily available online. We will first review the historical development of GEMMs in general, followed by a particular emphasis on the ability to perform tissue-specific (conditional) knockouts focusing on musculoskeletal tissues. We will then discuss how the development of CRISPR/Cas-based technologies during the last decade has revolutionized the generation of GEMMs.