Taconic
273 Hover Ave.
Germantown, NY, 12526-5320
Website: http://www.taconic.com
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Bcrp Targeted Mutation Mouse
Recent studies indicate that the Bcrp Targeted Mutation Mouse from Taconic is a useful model for studies of in vivo drug disposition and the role of ATP-dependent transporters in inflammation. The Bcrp model carries a disruption in the endogenous gene Abcg2, a member of the ATP-binding cassette family of drug transporters formerly referred to as Bcrp (breast cancer resistance protein). Drug transport is altered in the model due to the deficiency of ABC transporter protein. Upon exposure to pheophorbide, a chlorophyll metabolite and compound found in various plant-derived foods and food supplements, homozygous mice develop phototoxicity first expressed in ear lesions, progressing to mice becoming moribund. Homozygous mice also exhibit a form of protoporphyria, an acute photosensitivity of sun-exposed skin. The protoporphyria is characterized by elevated levels of protoporphyrin IX, a compound structurally related to pheophorbide, in the erythrocytes. The Bcrp model illustrates the importance of drug transporters in protection from toxicity of normal food constituents.
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