B6-hCALCA Mouse

Calcitonin-related polypeptide alpha (CALCA) is a protein-encoded gene, also known as CALC1, CGRP, or CGRP-α. Multiple genetic factors and epigenetic modifications regulate CALCA gene expression, and it forms peptide hormones calcitonin (CT), α-isoform of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and katacalcin through tissue-specific RNA alternative splicing and non-active precursor protein cleavage in transcription and translation. Calcitonin is synthesized and secreted by thyroid parafollicular cells, mainly involved in regulating calcium levels and phosphorus metabolism in bones and kidneys. It can reduce the concentration of calcium and phosphorus in the plasma and inhibit the absorption of calcium and phosphorus. CGRP mainly acts as a vasodilator and antimicrobial peptide, which can cause dilatation of coronary arteries, cerebral vessels, and systemic vessels, and help to regulate blood pressure. CGRP is also widely distributed in the pain pathways of the peripheral and central nervous system (CNS) of the human body, and its receptors are also expressed in the pain pathways. CGRP participates in the transmission of pain signals from the periphery to the CNS and plays a key role in pain regulation, which is related to the pathogenesis of a variety of pain diseases and related syndromes, including somatic pain, visceral pain, neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain, and migraine. Katacalcin mainly exists as a peptide that can effectively lower plasma calcium, and its effect of lowering serum calcium levels is almost the same as that of calcitonin. CALCA gene polymorphism is associated with a variety of diseases, including reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome, ischemic stroke, Parkinson's disease, ovarian cancer, bone mineral density, migraine, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and primary hypertension ^[1-5]. CALCA is a potential target for new therapies for a variety of diseases. Currently, various CALCA antagonists are being developed for the treatment of migraine and primary hypertension, and research on targeting CALCA for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease is also ongoing ^[6-7].

This strain is a humanized mouse model of the Calca gene. Using gene editing technology, the base sequence of the mouse Calca gene from the start codon to the 3’UTR region was replaced by the corresponding sequence in the human CALCA gene, while the 5’UTR region of the mouse Calca gene was retained. Homozygous B6-hCALCA mice are viable and fertile and can be used to study the mechanisms of various physiological and pathological processes such as blood pressure regulation, cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, vascular biology, physiological bone marrow production, inflammation, tumor growth, and research on CALCA-targeted migraine drugs and therapies.