Figure 1.

Generation of inducible muscle‐specific Raptor knockout mice (Raptor k.o.). (A) Raptor k.o. mice are generated by crossing two transgenic lines, one expressing two LoxP sites flanking exon 6 of the Raptor gene and one expressing a tamoxifen‐inducible form of Cre (CreER) driven by a human skeletal actin (HSA)‐promoter. Mice were treated with tamoxifen food for 3 weeks to delete the Raptor gene. (B) RT‐PCR for Raptor 4 weeks after the start of tamoxifen treatment shows a strong downregulation of Raptor (n = 4 mice per group). (C) Western blot of muscles taken out 4 weeks after the start of tamoxifen treatment. (D, E) Wet weight of gastrocnemius (D) and soleus muscles (E) is not different between groups (n = 6 mice per group). (F) Force production of the gastrocnemius muscle does not show any difference between wt and Raptor k.o. muscles (n = 4 per group). (G) H&E staining shows no pathological signs 1 month after Raptor deletion. Data are shown as mean ± SEM. Statistical analysis was performed using two‐tailed Student's t‐test. Statistical significance: *P < 0.05.