Tet is for the antibiotic tetracycline. Tet works as an antibiotic by inhibiting the translation of bacteria DNA to protein. The tet mice have a specially constructed mutant huntingtin gene that is inhibited by tet. My theory of HD (believed by only me) holds that HD is caused by the immune system eventually recognizing the mutant huntingtin DNA as an antigen

The tet mice are great tools to study HD. Currently they do not suggest any treatment for HD patients. --Jerry 04/25/00
Cell. 2000 Mar 31;101(1):57-66.Yamamoto A, et al.

Reversal of neuropathology and motor dysfunction in a conditional model of Huntington's disease.

Neurodegenerative disorders like Huntington's disease (HD) are characterized by progressive and putative irreversible clinical and neuropathological symptoms, including neuronal protein aggregates.

Conditional transgenic models of neurodegenerative diseases therefore could be a powerful means to explore the relationship between mutant protein expression and progression of the disease. We have created a conditional model of HD by using the tet-regulatable system.

Mice expressing a mutated huntingtin fragment demonstrate neuronal inclusions, characteristic neuropathology, and progressive motor dysfunction. Blockade of expression in symptomatic mice leads to a disappearance of inclusions and an amelioration of the behavioral phenotype.

We thus demonstrate that a continuous influx of the mutant protein is required to maintain inclusions and symptoms, raising the possibility that HD may be reversible.