According to Beiqing Network news, scientists from Japan said on Wednesday that their team has achieved the transformation of male mouse somatic cells into egg cells, that is, male XY sex chromosomes into female XX sex chromosomes. According to reports, the scientist said that for the first time, they used the cells of male mice to grow viable eggs, so that two male mice "produced" offspring.
Two male mice "give birth" to offspring
According to reports, the technique involves first extracting skin cells from male mice and then transforming them into a stem cell-like state. Because this skin cell is extracted from male mice, it has an XY chromosome. Professor Lin's team eliminated the Y chromosome, "borrowed" an X chromosome from another cell, and then cleverly "glued" the two X chromosomes together. This process turns stem cells into egg cells.
Mice.
Professor Lin said the main motivation for the study was to offer a fertility treatment for couples suffering from infertility, and he was not in favor of men using their own sperm and artificially created egg cells to create a baby. Professor Lin said that at this stage, the technology is not yet safe for humans, but he believes that the problem can be solved within 10 years. In this study, experimental mice again contributed to medical progress.
Experiments use more than mice than mice
According to public information, laboratory mice, mice, and white mice refer to white-furred rats or mice that are commonly used as experimental animals in the teaching and research of physiology, medicine, pharmacy and other disciplines. The guinea pig is a variant of the wild mole rat, the rat species. The most widely bred in China is the breed introduced to Kunming, Yunnan in 1946 from a research institute in India, most of which are used for medical research.
According to previous reports by Science and Technology Daily, there are currently more than 1,000 strains of experimental mice in the world in addition to genetically engineered mouse resources, and more than 10,000 strains of genetically engineered mice. We already have a large number of inbred, mutant, and closed groups.
Experimental mice are classified according to coat color, including white, gray, brown, yellow, black, etc.
It is worth noting that many people think that laboratory mice are mice, which is a misconception. "In fact, experimental mice are classified according to coat color, there are white, gray, brown, yellow, black, etc." Wu Huijuan, director of the Beijing Laboratory Animal Research Center, said in an interview with Science and Technology Daily: "Different strains of mice have corresponding experimental fields, and high-quality mouse models can help experimenters solve some fundamental problems." ”
Mice are highly homologous to human genes
Why do scientists think mice are particularly suitable for laboratory animals?
According to Science and Technology Daily, first of all, mice are small in size, which is convenient for experimental operation. And mice are docile, easy to catch, generally do not bite, convenient feeding management. Second, mice are sensitive to foreign stimuli. In addition, mice can provide homogeneous and different strains of animals, because the animals are genetically homogeneous, the individual differences are small, and the experimental results are accurate and reliable. In addition, mice have early sexual maturity and strong reproductive ability. In addition to these external characteristics, the characteristics of mouse genes are more suitable as experimental animals.
Studies have confirmed that mice and humans are highly homologous at the genetic level.
According to the popular science China public account, among the existing experimental animals, we have studied the genetic background of mice in the most exhaustive and thorough. In 2002, the sequencing of the mouse genome was completed in the world. The researchers analyzed 96% of the mice's genetic sequences, and 99% of the genes could find homologous sequences in human genetic sequences, confirming that mice and humans are highly homologous at the genetic level, which also laid the foundation for mice to become animal models for studying human diseases.
Mice have been used in the study of a variety of diseases
Genes determine the occurrence and development of many genetic diseases, and many mice have genetic diseases, such as mouse melanoma, hereditary anemia, familial obesity, etc., these diseases are similar to human onset, and are widely used in animal models to study human genetic diseases.
In drug safety evaluation, mice are often used for toxicity experiments and the determination of drug resistance, and common "three-cause" (teratogenic, carcinogenic, and gene-mutating) experiments will also use mice.
Mice are also widely used in the identification of serum, vaccines and other biological products, as well as the potency determination of various drugs, etc., for example, the use of mouse pupil dilation to test the effect of drugs on sympathetic nerves, the use of mouse hot plate technology caused by hind paw movement or mechanical tail pressure to evaluate the efficacy of painkillers.
A statue of a laboratory mouse housed in the Novosibirsk Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Russia that edits the gene strands commemorates the important role rats play in studying disease and developing drugs.
In the 21st century, medical workers around the world have increased their research on the pathogenesis of tumors. Because some mice can spontaneously produce tumors, such as AKR rat leukemia incidence is close to 90%, C3H mice breast cancer incidence is close to 100%; Some mice are sensitive to carcinogens and can induce various tumors, such as using diethylnitrosamines to induce mouse lung cancer; Some mice can be used as "test tubes" for cancer cells, such as mice with severe defects in the thymus gland can receive the implantation of various human tumor cells, and the tumors produced by these mice are very similar to human tumors, which are of great help in studying the etiology, pathogenesis and screening of anti-cancer drugs.
Upstream news comprehensive from Beiqing Net, Guangming Network, Global Network, Popular Science China public account, etc. Image source: Science and Technology Daily, Popular Science China public account, etc
Editor: Xu Yuanzhe
Responsible editor: Wang Rong, Guan Yi
Reviewed: Feng Fei