Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is a genetic disease affecting the MEN1 gene, which encodes menin, a tumour suppressor. People with MEN1 tend to develop tumours in the parathyroid glands, and neuroendocrine tumours in the pancreatic islets and anterior pituitary. The exact role of menin at the start of the tumourigenesis process is not yet clear.

In this paper, Lines et al. report on the development of a new MEN1 mouse model. This was developed through crossbreeding mice with the MEN1 gene floxed by LoxP sites (Men1^L/L), with mice expressing tamoxifen-inducible Cre recombinase under the control of the rat insulin promoter (RIP2-CreER). This resulted in a new temporally controlled conditional mouse model (Men1^L/L/ RIP2-CreER), in which the development of pancreatic β-cell NETs can be induced by tamoxifen. The team hope this model will aid research into early events in the development this type of tumour in MEN1.

Read the full article in Endocrine Connections 6 232–242