A loxP site was inserted in intron 1 and a loxP-flanked neomycin-TK cassette was inserted downstream in intron 6. The neomycin-TK cassette was removed by transient transfection with a Cre recombinase expression vector in ES cells prior to the production of chimeric mice and left two loxP sites flanking a region of gene sequence from exon 2 through exon 6. (J:67966)