The ability to better diagnose and treat many human diseases took a step forward today, with the announcement of the sequencing of the mouse genome and the remarkable evidence that humans share 99% of their genes with mice.
Among the first to capitalise on this freely available information is Dr Paul Crocker, a Principal Investigator within the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee.
Dr Crocker and his team have used the human and mouse genome projects to identify a new group of genes coding for proteins called siglecs that are implicated in inflammation. Inflammation is a response by the immune system to infection and injury and can be mounted inappropriately in allergies and disorders like rheumatoid arthritis.
He said, "We found siglec proteins on the surface of cells that form the first line of defence against infections. Siglecs also turned out to be related to molecules already known to be involved in inflammation and allergies. This gave us good reason to believe they play a role in some important diseases.
"We used genome sequences to identify the repertoire of siglecs in mice and in humans, and discovered important similarities and differences between them. Our next step will be to develop models of immune system disorders in mice to better understand the roles of siglecs in health and disease. For example, by genetically removing a specific siglec gene we can study the effects of its absence. This knowledge could help provide new approaches to the treatment of inflammatory-based diseases."
"There are thousands of research groups across the world which will now be able to take advantage of this wonderful public resource. This will greatly accelerate progress in the understanding and treatment of human diseases in general."
The sequence and analysis of more than 95 percent of the mouse genome is published for the first time in the journal Nature on 5 December. They show that for almost every human gene there is a mouse equivalent, allowing scientists to translate for the first time the words of two genomes into a common language that can be shared by scientist the world over. The report show that both species have around 30,000 genes, yet only 300 are unique to either organism - highlighting the tremendous value of the mouse as the most important animal model in biomedical research.
Dr Crocker is supported by a Senior Research Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust and is Deputy Head of the Division of Cell Biology and Immunology in the School of Life Sciences. He came to Dundee in 1997 from the University of Oxford.
The sequencing of the mouse genome was achieved through an international collaboration of scientists from The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK, the Whitehead Institute (Cambridge, MA) and Washington University (St. Louis, MO).
By Jenny Marra, Press Officer 01382 344910 j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk