14 DAY TRIAL // After the mad cow, why not the demented pig? This is what Danish researchers at Institute of Human Genetics, Aarhus University, and University of Copenhagen, led by Associate Professor Arne Lund Jorgensen, are going to produce: the first pigs containing genes that trigger the Alzheimer's disease. The first cloned piglets will be born in August.
The Alzheimer linked gene was inserted into the somatic cells. The nuclei of these modified somatic cells were employed for the nuclear transfer, where the nucleus of a normal fertilized egg was replaced with this one. The embryo that will develop carries the genes from the modified somatic cells. "This event is a landmark achievement in the effort towards finding a cure for the disease," signaled the researchers.
After having been exposed to a breakthrough biotechnology, the cloned pigs that have been genetically engineered could function as animal models for the Alzheimer's disease (or senile dementia), the most common form of human dementia. In the US alone, 5 million people experience this human brain degenerative disorder and the worldwide the number is estimated at approximately 24 million.
"In the light of the intense focus on medical research at the University of Copenhagen and the continuous expansion of the pharmaceutical industry in Denmark, the ability to produce transgenic pig models for human diseases is a major prerequisite for future progress in this area," said Professor Ingrid Br?ck B?gh from the Department of Large Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen.
"The upcoming birth of these transgenic pig models constitutes a fantastic success for us. It is also a demonstration of the excellent cross-disciplinary collaboration between the experts at both universities," she continues.
"We now have evidence that our system is very well suited for the task of making disease models for human medicine," said Professor G?bor Vajta from the Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus.