Knockout Mice
By: Vantasia Tolbert &&'nd Jose Gonzales
What are "Knockout Mice" ?
- Knockout mice are laboratory mice that researchers have inactivated, or "knocked out", an existing gene by replacing it or disrupting it with an artificial piece of DNA.
How are they used ?
- Knockout mice are used for studying and modeling different types of medical problems.
- They're used for experiments with: cancer, obesity, heart diseases, diabetes, arthritis, etc..
Advantages and Disadvantages
While knockout mice represents a very valuable research tool, they come with IMPORTANT limitations. Around 15% of knockout mice's gene knockouts are developmentally lethal. This means that the genetically altered embryos cannot grow in an adult mice.