How to Knock Out Genetic Disease in Mice

Mice reproduce prolifically, and that's what makes controlling their genetic diseases a challenge. Mice diseases have common symptoms and can be fatal. Some of them come with deformities. Owing to the genetic depth of these diseases, scientists in reputed labs like Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, have devised ways to get the bad gene out of the DNA system. This is a highly sophisticated technology that yields an updated way to control diseases. Mice in which the gene has been "knocked out," creating so-called knockout mice, are important animal models for research.

Things You'll Need

• Black mouse
• Brown mouse
• Surrogate mother mouse
• Embryonic stem (ES) cells

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Instructions

Introduction of mutant gene

• 1

  Introduce the DNA containing the mutant gene from the black mouse. Embryonic stem cells from the black mouse contain the DNA with a normal chromosome and a newly introduced mutation.

• 2

  These altered stem cells are then injected into the active embryo of the brown mouse. The surrogate mother has to be a genetically healthy mouse to avoid complications and possible fatality.

• 3

  The embryo of the brown mouse now will be used for the surrogate mother mouse. The contents of the new embryo include the embryonic stem cells from the black mouse. Implanting these into the surrogate mother mouse is predictably effective, mainly owing to the introduced mutation.

• 4

  Evident features in the new offspring can help you realize that cells from both the black and brown strains have taken effect in the chimeras. From both categories of cells among the male and female chimeras, it is highly probable that their mating will produce offspring with the desirable genetic quality.

• 5

  Since both parents carried the introduced mutation, the chances are as follows: One out of four offspring mice will have no sign of the introduced mutation. Two out of four will have one chromosome carrying the introduced mutation. One will be the knockout mouse with the introduced mutation on both chromosomes.