DDR Mouse Models

Over the past decade, discoidin domain receptors (DDRs) have been identified and subsequently confirmed as endogenous receptors that regulate cell proliferation, cell adhesion, migration, as well as extracellular matrix remodeling, mainly in in vitro studies. DDR mouse models, via loss-of-function or gain-of-function mice, have been another powerful tool to elucidate the additional biological and physiological functions of DDRs associated with diseases using phenotypic analyses. Physiological models that use the selective targeting of mice and transgenic mice that are either engineered mutant mice, or mice that spontaneously acquire gene mutations, are highlighted in this chapter.