How Scientists Use Knockout Mice To Cure Disease

The knockout mouse has been around since the early 1980s, being a kind of mouse that has been engineered to have a particular gene deleted or inactivated. For scientists, this is an important tool for studying how single genes affect the overall functioning of living organisms.

What Is A Knockout Mouse?

A knockout mouse is a specially created mouse that has a gene or genes missing, or ‘knocked out’. The purpose of this is to show the effects of certain genes by removing them from the animal. Knockout mice are a great tool for understanding how genes work and what they do.

The Process of Making A Knockout Mouse

Making a knockout mouse is fairly easy. First, scientists use genetic engineering to remove one or more genes from the organism’s DNA. The alteration will show what role the gene plays in the organism’s health. Next, they need to inject the modified DNA into fertilized eggs that have had their nuclei removed. These fertilized eggs are then implanted into a female animal and allowed to carry to term. After birth, the pups are also used for scientific purposes.

How The Knockout Mice Are Used In Science

Knockout mice are often used in scientific research. Scientists create a gene deletion by removing a specific gene sequence from the mouse’s genome. This is done by injecting the mouse with a virus that has been modified to carry the desired gene sequence. The virus can enter the cells of all tissues and pass on the genetic defect to all of the body’s cells. As a result, this makes the mouse unable to produce proteins because they lack a particular gene.

Conclusion

Coincidentally, the same procedure that was used in the study is also being used in a new effort to cure Alzheimer’s disease. For more information about the knockout mice, please contact Cyagen.