Consequently, mice that carry the Prkdc scidmutation have increased sensitivity to chemical or physical agents that damage DNA, such as cancer chemotherapies and irradiation. The gene Prkdc, mutated by scid, enocodes a DNA protein kinase that participates in DNA double strain break repair throughout the body, and not just in developing immune cells. What does it mean for NSG™ mice to be “radiation sensitive”? Dendritic cells and macrophages are also present in the mouse, although they are defective because of alleles in the NOD/ShiLt genetic background. Neutrophils and monocytes constitute most of the remaining mouse immune cells detectable in peripheral blood. They live longer than other scid mice because they do not develop thymic lymphoma (the major cause of death of the parental strain, NOD scid). They are susceptible to opportunistic pathogens, as discussed below. Lenny Shultz’s first publication about the strain reports a median survival time that exceeds 89 weeks). NSG™ mice can live over 1.5 years in a sufficiently clean environment (Prof. The major consequence of Il2rg deficiency is an absence of functional NK cells, which require IL15 signaling to develop. The signaling pathways for these cytokines are blocked in Il2rg knockout mice, although the cytokines themselves are still present. NSG™ mice have a complete null mutation (knockout) of this gene. The gamma chain of the interleukin 2 receptor ( Il2rg) is a common component of the cell surface receptors for six different interleukins (IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, IL-15, and IL-21).In the absence of V(D)J recombination, the T cell receptor (TCR) gene in T cells and the immunoglobulin (Ig) gene in B cells are not expressed, and T and B cells cannot mature. Prkdc encodes the catalytic subunit of a DNA dependent protein kinase with a role in resolving the DNA double strand breaks that occur during V(D)J recombination. scid is a loss-of-function mutation of the Prkdc gene that prevents the development of T and B cells.Consequently, macrophages and dendritic cells are defective.

The NOD genetic background contains alleles that reduce the function of the innate branch of the immune system.NSG™ is one of the most immunodeficient mouse strains described to date. The questions are organized under the following sections:īasic facts about NSG™ mice How immunodeficient are NSG™ mice? Below are common questions and answers for maintaining and using NSG™ mice in biomedical research.

What are nod scid mice