Strain Detail: PKAchu mice

PKAchu mice are transgenic mice expressing cytoplasm-localized förster (or fluorescence) resonance energy transfer (FRET) biosensor AKAR3EV monitoring PKA kinase activity under the control of CAG promoter in whole body. Protein kinase A (PKA, also known as the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase) is activated by cAMP which is raised intracellular concentration by stimuli of hormone or bioactive substance, and relays signal transduction received like hormones. It's possible to measure PKA kinase activity spatially and temporally in fetal or adult various tissues by live imaging observation of this strain in the two-photon microscopy. This strain expects not only to analyze the signal transduction cascade in live animals, but also apply drug development such as the pharmacodynamic analysis targeting signal molecules, because these mice are showed rich expression in primary cultured cells derived from various tissues. In the developmental stage, biosensor expression can be observed at almost cells. FRET biosensor generally can't use for fixed samples.

1. Kamioka Y, Sumiyama K, Mizuno R, Sakai Y, Hirata E, Kiyokawa E, and Matsuda M. (2012) Live imaging of protein kinase activities in transgenic mice expressing FRET biosensors. Cell Struct Funct 37(1):65-73. [PMID:22277578]