TRANSGENIC DISEASE MODEL
INTRODUCTION
The 21st century is subjected to a large number of diseases for which we have no specific cures including neuronal dysfunction like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, metabolic diseases like diabetes and several other degenerative diseases. Further human beings have become prone to certain infectious diseases like HIV, malaria, hepatitis, tuberculosis which are either resistant or untreatable. In order to treat these diseases we need the help of sophisticated research tools and targeted medical care. Most of these diseases result out of genetic disorders and so transgenic disease model would aid in solving these major medical needs this ageing population is facing. Transgenic disease models are animals that have
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The animals are then screened to check which one shows the phenotype similar to human diseases. The two most effective ways to generate mutations are by exposing organisms to X-rays or to the chemical N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU).
Transgenesis
Transgenic animals are generated by adding foreign genetic information to the nucleus of embryonic cells, thereby inhibiting gene expression. As against the use of X-ray or ENU, transgenesis uses the technique of injection of foreign DNA or the use of retroviral vector to introduce the transgene into an organism’s DNA. To increase the size of DNA fragments used in transgenesis, scientists are cloning them in yeast or bacterial artificial chromosomes (YACs and BACs). This has increased the use of transgenic mice as disease model.
Single Gene Knock-Outs and Knock-Ins
These are models to target a mutation to a specific gene locus and are particularly useful if a single gene is shown to be the primary cause of a disease. Knock-out mice carry a gene that has been inactivated while knock-out mice are produced by inserting a transgene at the exact location where it is overexpressed. Many knock-out and knock-in mice have similar, if not identical phenotype to human patients and are therefore good models for human