Genetically modified animals – The situation today

Given the availability of information about the human genome today, genetically modified animals are the only means to reliably translate the genetic code into biological functions in order to study the role and action mechanisms of proteins inside a living organism.

Proteins control all the body's biological functions. These functions are affected by a number of diseases. Genetic modifications cause a change in the proteins' structure or expression. This technique makes it possible to understand the mechanisms underlying the molecular and physiological regulation involved in disease processes. It also enables scientists to reproduce certain diseases in order to test the efficacy of medicines.

Today, genetically modified mice are the only way to obtain a reliable result. It is for this reason that the mouse genome was sequenced very soon after the human genome, and research centers have already created mouse models in which more than 10,000 different genes have either been removed or modified. Some of these models are used for pharmaceutical research: to study genes that represent potential targets for future drugs, and as models for research on human diseases in order to assess the efficacy of these medicines.

The use of such models is subject to strict ethical rules designed to protect the animal and it must comply with biological safety rules that aim to protect both researchers and the environment in the event of accidental release.

Consult the Nuffield Council on Bioethics report published on 25th May 2005: "The ethics of research involving animals: Chapter 7 Genetically modified animals in the study of human disease"