Adenoviruses are capable of infecting a wide range of tissues, including the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, urinary tract, bladder, eyes, and liver. Their genes can be divided into early (E1-4) and late (L1-5) transcription units. The adenovirus E2 region gene encodes DNA-binding proteins E2A and E2B, which are involved in viral replication. E2A (EIIA) is a DNA-binding protein (DBP), while the E2B products are the terminal protein precursor (pTP) and viral DNA polymerase (pol). These three proteins bind tightly to form a complex that interacts with at least three intracellular factors to initiate adenovirus DNA replication and the transcription and translation of late viral genes.

This strain carries an EIIA gene promoter-driven Improved Cre (iCre) recombinase gene expression element insertion in the H11 safe harbor to drive the systemic expression of Cre recombinase. When crossed with mice containing the loxP site-flanked sequence, Cre recombinase-mediated recombination resulted in the deletion of the flanked sequence in the early embryo of offspring. The recombination occurs in systemic tissues and can transmit genetic changes to the germ cells of the offspring in this strain. The homozygous H11-EIIA-iCre mice are viable and fertile.