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From gene to functions
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Applied to human beings, genomics
allows us to define and understand the relation between certain
DNA sequences and biological phenomena, normal or pathological.
For several years remarkable efforts and heavy investments have
been made systematically to map and sequence the human genome. This
first step is necessary to identify mutations or certain characteristics
linked to diseases.
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However, merely identifying these sequences cannot itself determine
the role of a gene in a disease or a biological mechanism. Molecular
analysis is the first step toward an answer, but given the complexity
of a cell, and how much more so of an entire organism, this approach
remains insufficient.
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Only studies on the cell itself
and the animal offer the possibility to characterize the precise
functions of a gene by placing it in its natural context, which
is infinitely more complex than any experiment that could ever be
designed in a laboratory.
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Studying genetically modified
mice has now become essential in clinical and fundamental research.
These mice make it possible to study in vivo functions, expression
and regulatory mechanisms of a gene implicated in a disease or certain
biological phenomena. They can also be used to develop experimental
models to reproduce human diseases, test pharmacological entities
or evaluate protocols for gene therapy.
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| Glossary | |
- © genOway 2003 -
A provider in Transgenesis: knock out mouse, knock-in mouse and transgenic mouse