Strain Detail: lox-AMPK mice

The lox-AMPK mice are transgenic mice expressing a probe containing lox-tdKeima and förster (or fluorescence) resonance energy transfer (FRET) biosensor Eevee-AMPK for monitoring AMPK kinase activity. 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.

1. Konagaya Y, Terai K, Hirao Y, Takakura K, Imajo M, Kamioka Y, Sasaoka N, Kakizuka A, Sumiyama K, Asano T, and Matsuda M. (2017) A Highly Sensitive FRET Biosensor for AMPK Exhibits Heterogeneous AMPK Responses among Cells and Organs. Cell Rep 21(9):2628-2638. [PMID:29186696]