Genetics and Health

Genetically Engineered Mice

by Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD on August 7th, 2005

How many mice does it take to screw in a lightbulb? I don’t know, but over 10 million mice are used in laboratory research every year worldwide (probably not for general lab maintenance, though). Of the over 25,000 genes in humans, mice share all but a few hundred - making the study of mice genetics a good corollary to studies of human diseases.

As I mentioned in my previous post about animals in genetics research, using animals is unavoidable if we are to make progress in disease prevention because it’s unethical to use humans in preliminary research on gene function. For example, we couldn’t deliberately knock-out or add genes to a human embryo to see what would happen. We can, however, do that in mice.

Many animal rights groups oppose all animal experimentation as cruel, but lab scientists who work with bio-engineered mice are quick to point out that the Food and Drug Administration requires that all drugs be tested on animals before people. Peterson said the Jackson lab, in operation since 1929, follows federal guidelines on animal treatment and has never been targeted by anti-experimentation militants.

~USA Today, August 5, 2005

There are almost 3,000 different strains of genetically engineered mice at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. (I’ve taken a course there and it’s a beautiful place even if you are surrounded by mutant mice.) Here are some of the mice scientists have created:

• Schwarzenegger mice - injected with muscle-building genes.
• Marathon mouse, which never seems to tire.
• Mice extremely addicted to nicotine.
• Mice immune to scrapie, a close cousin to the brain-wasting mad cow disease.
• Methuselah mouse, able to cheat death long after its natural brethren meet their maker
• Mice that don’t make dopamine.
• Mice with muscles that lose connection to their nerve cells.

Because most common human diseases, such as diabetes and cancer, are caused by more than one gene, scientists are working to engineer mice which reflect that complexity more accurately. As more disease-associated genes are discovered, being able to perform experiments using live animal models is an inescapable and invaluable step towards developing better treatments and even cures.

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POSTED IN: Genetic Engineering