Strain Detail: AMPAM mice

The AMPAM mice are transgenic mice expressing a cytoplasm-localized förster (or fluorescence) resonance energy transfer (FRET) biosensor for monitoring AMPK kinase activity. The AMPAM mice were derived from transgenic expressing a probe with both lox-tdKeima and FRET sensor. The lox-tdKeima in the probe was removed by mating with Ella-Cre mice, and therefore, the AMPAM mice express the FRET biosensor in the whole body. AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) is a protein kinase, which phosphorylates various proteins in the presence of AMP. It promotes ATP-producing pathways and inhibits ATP-consuming biosynthetic processes, including gluconeogenesis, lipid and protein synthesis. Through these processes, AMPK suppresses the proliferation of cells like tumor cells. With this strain, AMPK activity can be measured spatially and temporally in various tissues of fetuses and adults by live image observation of this strain under the two-photon microscopy. This strain is useful not only for analysis of the signal transduction cascade in live animals, but also for the application of drug development, such as the pharmacodynamic analysis targeting signal molecules, because rich expression of FRET biosensors can be observed even in primary cultured cells derived from various tissues.