Research Models

Commonly Used Mouse Models

Name Genes Mutations Modification Disease Neuropathology Behavior/Cognition Visualization Promoter/Regulatory Elements Genetic Background Strain Name Other Phenotypes Availability Primary Paper
MAPT MAPT P301L MAPT: Transgenic Frontotemporal Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease Propagating tau pathology starting in the entorhinal cortex and spreading to regions functionally connected to the EC (e.g., dentate gyrus). Neurodegeneration and axonal degeneration, first in EC and parasubiculum. Gliosis and synaptic loss. Subtle cognitive deficit in contextual fear conditioning, but not in the radial arm maze, at 16 months. Mild specific deficit in locomotor activity in the open field test. Yes 4510 mice are on an FVB background. Neuropsin-tTA mice are on a C57BL/6 background. No apparent change in anxiety as assessed by the open field test. Reduced Arc induction in the hippocampus after contextual fear conditioning. Subtle differences in basal synaptic transmission with enhanced axonal excitability. de Calignon et al., 2012
APP APP K670_M671delinsNL (Swedish) APP: Transgenic Alzheimer's Disease Age-related accumulation of Aβ in the hippocampus and cortex leading to plaque deposition by 12 months of age. Early gliosis and dystrophic neurites, not limited to the vicinity around plaques. Changes in synaptic morphology and number, along with increased number of lysosomes. Deficits in spatial memory prior to Aβ deposition, including deficits in the Morris water maze by 6 months Deficits in spontaneous alternation behavior in the Y maze by 12 months. No deficit in fear conditioning. Yes Transgene injected into C57BL/6 x C3H oocytes, some backcrossing to C57BL/6 No differences in body temperature, locomotor activity, or Rotarod performance, relative to non-Tg controls. Unknown Richardson et al., 2003