Mouse Models of Cancer Study

Mice and humans share various anatomical, cellular, and molecular characteristics. They also display approximately 80% orthology in their coding regions, making mice good model organisms for human cancer research.

Researchers can genetically engineer a mouse’s genome to mutate, delete, or over-express potential cancer-causing genes. Such transgenic mice are a valuable tool to study the effect of altered genes in tumor development and progression.

For example, a potential oncogene can be integrated into the mouse genome along with an appropriate promoter. If the over-expression of the gene leads to tumor development in the mouse, it indicates the oncogenic potential of the gene-of-interest.

Similarly, a knockout mouse that lacks a potential tumor suppressor gene can help researchers to understand the gene’s significance in tumor growth.

However, most tumor suppressor genes play an essential role in early mouse development. Therefore, a knockout mouse where a crucial tumor suppressor gene is silenced may not survive until adulthood.

In such instances conditional mouse models can be used. Here, a gene of interest is specifically inactivated only in targeted tissue cells or at a certai