Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability due to the brain's limited ability to repair after injury. Research tools to study the recovery of the brain after a stroke will aid in the development of future treatment options for stoke patients.

INNOVATION:  UCLA researchers have developed a number of mice models to study the role of EPO and EPOR in nervous system development and repair:

• Epo or EpoR null mice: both strains exhibit identical neurogenesis defects, suggesting essential roles in embryonic neurogenesis
• EpoR floxed mice: insertion of loxp sites between promoter and exons 1-4. No abnormal phenotypes were observed suggesting the introduction of loxp sites does not disrupt normal function of EpoR.
• Brain-specific EpoR deletion: EpoR floxed mice were crossed with hGFAP-cre mice to effectively delete EpoR expression in the brain and spare hematopoietic tissue.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS 

• Research tool to study the role of Epo and EpoR in post-stroke neurogenesis, adult neurogenesis and embryonic neurogenesis.

Reference: UCLA Case No. 2007-215