Analyzing gene function in adult long-term hematopoietic stem cells using the interferon inducible Mx1-Cre mouse system.

Long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into all blood cell lineages. Understanding the genetic networks that regulate LT-HSC function in the adult bone marrow requires inducible gene targeting and bone marrow transplantations. In this chapter we describe the use of the inducible Mx1-Cre mouse model to delete genes in LT-HSCs and methodologies for examining the function of LT-HSCs following deletion.