Stemcell breakthrough: Mice implanted with human chromosome

The achievement caps 13 years of research at London’s National Institute for Medical Health and the Institute of Neurology. In their report in the journal Science, researchers describe how they mixed the human chromosome with mouse embryonic stem cells. Those that absorbed chromosome 21 were then injected into mouse embryo which was re-implanted into the mother. The resulting mice have a copy of the human chromosome. Although they look normal, they show various features associated with Down’s syndrome.

Down’s syndrome, which affects about one in every 800 live births, causes delays in mental and physical development. People with the condition may also have heart defects and a higher risk of suffering from leukaemia and early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

‘‘These disorders that people with Down’s are more prone to get are ones that also affect all humans,” said research team head, Dr Victor Tybulewicz “If we gain insights into what is going wrong in the Down’s syndrome people, we may also gain insights into what goes wrong during those disorders amongst the rest of us.’ —Reuters