A loxP site was inserted into intron 7 and a second loxP site into intron 10, creating a conditional-ready allele with exons 8-10 floxed. An FRT site flanked neomycin resistance gene cassette was also inserted. Exons 8-10 were deleted through subsequent cre-mediated recombination. In situ hybridization and Western blots confirmed the absence of transcript and peptide expression from this allele.