Dissection of the NF-κB signalling cascade in transgenic and knockout mice

Studies in transgenic and knockout mice have made a major contribution to our current understanding of the physiological functions of the NF-κB signalling cascade. The generation and analysis of mice with targeted modifications of individual components of the NF-κB pathway tremendously advanced our knowledge of the roles of the NF-κB proteins themselves, and also of the many activators and negative regulators of NF-κB. These studies have highlighted the complexity of the NF-κB system, by revealing the multiple interactions, redundancies, but also diverse functions, performed by the different molecules participating in the regulation of NF-κB signalling. Furthermore, inhibition or enforced activation of NF-κB in transgenic mice has uncovered the critical roles that NF-κB plays in the pathogenesis of various diseases such as liver failure, diabetes and cancer.