NZW mouse embryonic stem cells

Mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells are used for generating knockout and knockin mouse models, which are crucial for biomedical research as well as pre-clinical studies. Because of the technical difficulty in deriving mouse ES cells, only a limited number of ES cell lines are currently available. In addition, most mouse ES cell lines are derived from 129 strain background. ES cells derived from C57BL6, Balb/c and FVB have also been reported in the past. Studies that require strain other than aforementioned are therefore not possible. New Zealand White (NZW) mice are used in research fields such as hematology, immunology and inflammation. F1 hybrids of NZB (New Zealand Black) and NZW are widely used as a model for autoimmunie diseases resembling human systemic lupus erythematosus. Establishing a novel NZW ES cell line therefore enables gene modiciation in ES cells and the creation of mouse models for autoimmune studies.