Mouse Models for Studying Human Disease

Access to model organisms is key to advancing the research objectives of the biomedical research community. To facilitate this access, The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) Mouse Repository has served as a centralized resource for the distribution, cryopreservation and development of high health status mouse models for over 50 years. Hundreds of new strains are added annually to one of the largest collections of characterized mouse strains available. DREADDs (designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs) are mutant G‐protein coupled receptors activated by the pharmacologically‐inert molecule clozapine‐ N ‐oxide. Several pharmacogenetic tool strains have Cre‐ or Tet‐inducible expression of the DREADDs hM3Dq, hM4Di or rM3Ds. Newly available Cre‐lox, Tet‐On/‐Off, fluorescent, optogenetic, CRISPR/Cas9 and other tool strains will also be described. Search JAX Mouse Repository holdings using the newly designed JAXMice database ( jaxmice.jax.org/query ). In addition, we show other web resources useful to identify and obtain mouse models for human disease research. The International Mouse Strain Registry (IMSR; findmice.org ) displays mouse strains and mutant ES cell lines available worldwide. The Human/Mouse Disease Connection (HMDC; diseasemodel.org ) is a human‐to‐mouse data traversal that enables clinical and translational researchers to access mouse model data/annotations, and allows mouse researchers to connect their findings directly to genetic associations reported in human disease. Donating a strain to JAX Mouse Repository fulfills the NIH requirement for sharing mice; researchers wishing to do so may submit them via our online submission form ( jax.org/donate‐a‐mouse ). JAX Mouse Repository is supported by NIH, The Howard Hughes Medical Institute and several private charitable foundations.