# Generation of a Light Inducible Cre Transgenic Animal for KidneyResearch

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2021 · $222,750

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Animal modeling of disease states and bioreporters for in situ analysis of cellular dynamics are an essential aspect
of kidney, urological and hematopoietic research; however, most studies focus on genetic manipulation within
the whole organism or kidney specific cell types, which does not accurately reflect disease states that are often
associated with defects in individual cells or groups of cells. This discrepancy is largely due to the technical chal-
lenges of being able to unrestrictedly induce Cre recombination in an optically selected group of cells within an
intact organism. Therefore, we believe that a system for controlled genetic manipulation (resulting in loss of
function alleles or expression of exogenous cDNAs/bioreporters) within a group of cells of a viable organism is
required. This system should not alter or perturb the surrounding environment and should allow for potential
systems based analysis and biomarker incorporation. Therefore, we hypothesize that transgenic lines ubiqui-
tously expressing a light inducible Cre would allow for such unseen optical spatial and temporal control within a
living organism. This Light Inducible Recombination (LIR) systems will be established within both the mouse
and the zebrafish model organisms. Upon completion of this proposal we will have established versatile and
efficient tools for selective genetic alterations that will facilitate regional and potentially single cell analysis in a
multitude of research fields. We anticipate that this research will have a broad positive impact on a number areas
of kidney, urological and hematopoietic research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10286292
- **Project number:** 1R21DK129910-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** John M Parant
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $222,750
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-07-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10286292

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10286292, Generation of a Light Inducible Cre Transgenic Animal for KidneyResearch (1R21DK129910-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10286292. Licensed CC0.

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