Contribution of Genetically Modified (GM) Animals to Neuroscience Research

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Introduction
Development of genetically modified (GM) animals was possible thanks to advancements in molecular genetics that took place in 1970’s and 80’s. Until then, the function of genes could only be studied through spontaneous mutations and observation of inherited characteristics. GM animals are now an invaluable tool for exploring physiological and pathological processes, and they allow for determination of gene function in living organisms (Brussa 1999; Dunn et al. 2005).
GM animals are widely used across all fields of biomedical sciences. The field of neuroscience is no exception. This essay will briefly introduce the origins of the development of GM animals and it will then discuss the importance of GM animals in neuroscience research. It aims to explore the use of GM animals in the studies of nervous system function as well as their use as models of human neuropathologies.
Brief History of GM Animals Development
In 1974, Rudolf Jaenisch and Beatrice Mintz created the first genetically modified (GM) animal which carried the modified gene in its tissue. It was a transgenic mice created by insertion of foreign DNA into early-stage mouse embryos (Jaenisch & Mintz 1974; Jones 2011). The term ‘transgenic’ was, however, first introduced by Gordon and Ruddle in 1981 when they created a GM mouse that was capable of passing specified foreign genes to its offspring (Gordon & Ruddle 1981; Jones 2011). They did so by microinjection of recombinant plasmid carrying a portion of the SV40 virus and the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (TK) gene into single-celled mouse embryos. Only two of the 78 injected mice were transformed and the integration of the DNA into the host genome was random, nevertheless their study showed that DNA c...

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...views Genetics 2, 743-755.
Manis JP (2007) Knock out, knock in, knock down – Genetically manipulated mice and the Nobel Prize. The New England Journal of Medicine 357, 2426-2429.
Mauk MD, Medina JF, Nores WL, Steele PM (1998) Using genetic mutation to study the neural basis of behavior. Cell 95, 879-882.
Möhler U & Rudolph H (1999) Genetically modified animals in pharmacological research: Future trends. European Journal of Pharmacology 375, 327-337.
Ross CA & Shoulson I (2009) Huntington’s disease: Pathogenesis, biomarkers, and approaches to experimental therapeutics. Parkinsonism and Related Disorders 15S3, S135-S138.
Wells DJ (2010) Genetically modified animals and pharmacological research. In Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology 199 - Comparative and Veterinary Pharmacology (eds Cunningham F, Elliott J, Lees P) pp 213-226. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

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