Mouse Model of Human SCD
Transgenic sickle mice (Sickle) with knockout of all mouse hemoglobin genes and insertion of a transgene that expresses human α- and β HbS were developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [17]. Sickle mice were obtained by interbreeding sickle cell males with hemizygous (Hemi) females in-house. Breeding pairs for Sickle mice (strain number 3342) and wild type (WT) mice were obtained from Jackson Laboratory. Genotyping was performed by Transnetyx, Inc. Because C57BL/6 is one of the background strains for the transgenic sickle mice, C57BL/6 was chosen as WT control. Additional control animals were Hemi littermates, which have anemia but no sickle deformation [18]. Male mice used in experiments were 7–9 months old. Mice were pathogen free and received routine NIH rodent chow and water. Testes and blood were collected between 8 am and 11 am from anesthetized mice. Blood was obtained by cardiac puncture using 1 ml TB syringe with sterile 26Gx3/8 needle and collected into eppendorf tubes. Although we did not measure fetal Hb or erythrocyte sickling in Sickle mice, we did confirm their phenotype after euthanasia by their extremely big spleens [17].