Generation of Gga3 Knockout Mice

The generation of Gga3-/- (GGA3 KO) mouse line has been already described [17 (link)]. Briefly, the strain was created by microinjection of E14Tg2a.4 from 129P2/OlaHsd embryonic stem (ES) cells generated by BayGenomics (see http://baygenomics.ucsf.edu). The gene-trap vectors used within BayGenomics contain a splice-acceptor sequence upstream of a reporter gene, β-geo (a fusion of β-galactosidase and neomycin phosphotransferase II). These vectors insert randomly into introns. Chimeric males were mated to C57BL/6J females (Jackson laboratories) and the resulting heterozygous male was purchased. The mice used in these experiments have been backcrossed for 10 generations in C57BL/6J genetic background. Mice were housed under standard conditions and food and water were available ad libitum. All animal experiments were carried out with the approval of Tufts University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees.