Post by Shadow on Sept 23, 2005 22:19:58 GMT -5
Chromosome transplant in mice could provide clue to Down's syndrome
Guardian
· Studies will help scientists tease out problem genes
· Critics say boundaries being pushed too far
Ian Sample, science correspondent
Friday September 23, 2005
The Guardian
Scientists have successfully transplanted human chromosomes into mice, a first that promises to transform medical research into the genetic causes of disease. The mice were genetically engineered to carry a copy of human chromosome 21, a string of about 250 genes. About one in a thousand people are born with an extra copy of the chromosome, a genetic hiccup that causes Down's syndrome.
Genetic studies of the mice will help scientists to nail down which genes give rise to medical conditions which are prevalent among people with Down's syndrome, such as impaired brain development, heart defects, behavioural abnormalities, Alzheimer's disease and leukaemia.
Medical researchers yesterday hailed the work as a "tour de force", but critics accused the team of pushing the boundaries of genetic manipulation too far and blurring the distinction of what was biologically human.
Elizabeth Fisher at the Institute of Neurology and Victor Tybulewicz at the National Institute for Medical Research in London spent 13 years perfecting the technique which is reported in the journal Science today.
To create the mice, the team first extracted chromosomes from human cells and squirted them on to beds of stem cells taken from mouse embryos. Any stem cells that absorbed human chromosome 21 were injected into three-day-old mouse embryos which were then re-implanted into their mothers. The newly born mice carried copies of the chromosome and were able to pass it on to their own young.
Guardian
· Studies will help scientists tease out problem genes
· Critics say boundaries being pushed too far
Ian Sample, science correspondent
Friday September 23, 2005
The Guardian
Scientists have successfully transplanted human chromosomes into mice, a first that promises to transform medical research into the genetic causes of disease. The mice were genetically engineered to carry a copy of human chromosome 21, a string of about 250 genes. About one in a thousand people are born with an extra copy of the chromosome, a genetic hiccup that causes Down's syndrome.
Genetic studies of the mice will help scientists to nail down which genes give rise to medical conditions which are prevalent among people with Down's syndrome, such as impaired brain development, heart defects, behavioural abnormalities, Alzheimer's disease and leukaemia.
Medical researchers yesterday hailed the work as a "tour de force", but critics accused the team of pushing the boundaries of genetic manipulation too far and blurring the distinction of what was biologically human.
Elizabeth Fisher at the Institute of Neurology and Victor Tybulewicz at the National Institute for Medical Research in London spent 13 years perfecting the technique which is reported in the journal Science today.
To create the mice, the team first extracted chromosomes from human cells and squirted them on to beds of stem cells taken from mouse embryos. Any stem cells that absorbed human chromosome 21 were injected into three-day-old mouse embryos which were then re-implanted into their mothers. The newly born mice carried copies of the chromosome and were able to pass it on to their own young.