Ray Greek, MD MICE Contributing to stem cell research, the fast-moving world of mouse genet-ics has catapulted these small creatures into the forefront of science.. The 2007 Nobel Pr
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Ray Greek, MD
MICE
Contributing to stem cell research, the
fast-moving world of mouse
genet-ics has catapulted these small creatures
into the forefront of science The 2007
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
was awarded for isolating and modifying
embryonic stem cells and introducing
specific genes into the mouse germline
Inserting viruses plus genes into the
skin cells of an adult mouse transformed
them into new stem cells, permitting the
growth of new mouse skin and organ
tis-sue With the new knockout technology
used in mice, termed targeted genomics,
specific genes can be added or deleted to assess their effects on behavior and physi-ology Mice are well-defined genetically, and procedures are available for ma-nipulation of specific genes and control
of reproductive outcomes New mouse strains with specified genetic constructs are created to study disease processes Cryopreservation (freezing) makes it pos-sible to store embryos and blastocysts of mouse strains for later recovery, rather than needing to house colonies of valu-able mouse strains The new vocabulary for mice includes terms such as mouse engineering, chimera, targeted genomics for knockout and knock-in mice, mo-lecular constructs, genetic analysis, and phenotyping Expanding techniques for imaging can acquire significant informa-tion on the processes of disease from a small number of mice
The most typical laboratory mammal, mice account for a large majority of all mammals used in research in the United States and Europe Their genetic similari-ties to humans combine with a tiny body size and high reproductive rate to make them an economical, efficient option as models for studying the human body, the effects of diseases, and the feasibility of treatments for diseases Specific genes can be added or deleted to examine the gene’s effects A further use of mice sometimes required by regulations is to evaluate the safety of new chemicals or products, drugs, and vaccines, as well as
to measure the effects of limited or long-term exposure to a substance Very few mice are used in education and teaching While it is difficult to know the exact numbers of mice used in scientific proce-dures, detailed records from the United Kingdom’s Home Office show that mice account for 69 percent of the vertebrates