Work

Engineered Swine Models of Cancer

Year: 2016

Type: review

Abstract: Over the past decade, the technology to engineer genetically modified swine has seen many advancements, and because their physiology is remarkably similar to that of humans, swine models of cancer may be extremely valuable for preclinical safety studies as well as toxicity testing of pharmaceuticals prior to the start of human clinical trials. Hence, the benefits of using swine as a large animal model in cancer research and the potential applications and future opportunities of utilizing pigs in cancer modeling are immense. In this review, we discuss how pigs have been and can be used as a biomedical models for cancer research, with an emphasis on current technologies. We have focused on applications of precision genetics that can provide models that mimic human cancer predisposition syndromes. In particular, we describe the advantages of targeted gene-editing using custom endonucleases, specifically TALENs and CRISPRs, and transposon systems, to make novel pig models of cancer with broad preclinical applications.

Source: Frontiers in Genetics

DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2016.00078

Authors: Adrienne L. Watson, Daniel F. Carlson, David A. Largaespada, Perry B. Hackett, Scott C. Fahrenkrug

Institutions: Recombinetics (United States), University of Minnesota, Masonic Cancer Center

Language: English

Topic: Animal Genetics and Reproduction

Subfield: Genetics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801