Introducción en el manejo y obtención de embriones de ratón para su modificación genética

Abstract

The progresses in molecular biology and recombinant DNA technology as well as the knowledge to edit the genome have allowed the development of genetically engineered animal organisms (GMOs) that nowadays are a key factor in biomedical research. There are innumerable research fields where the use of GMOs is common, one of them being the study of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), diseases caused by small protein particles derived from the host; these particles suffer a conformational change which results in their transformation into infectious proteins which are called prions. The following study describes the main techniques used in the handling and harvesting of mouse embryos for their genetic modification resulting in the generation of a new transgenic organism that will be used in the study of TSEs. In this particular case, the new GMOs will incorporate in its genome the sequences of the human prionic protein (PrPc) through the microinjection of naked DNA in mouse embryos at unicellular phase. Among other applications, the model generated will be used to test the infectious capacity of different prions from other species potentially dangerous to human beings, as well as discovering what polymorphic versions of PrPc are more susceptible to infection.