Experiments with Mice in the Lab
Below are some significant experiments that have involved lab mice over the years, and their impact on the scientific world
The Father of "Mice Science"
Fredrick Griffith
The first experiments on mice were performed by Fredrick Griffith, in 1928. He injected mice with various strains of deadly bacteria, in an effort to distinguish DNA from other proteins and bacterial elements. His methods became widely known, as scientists still use mice today in laboratory testing.
Addiction Mice
Human Brain (top)
vs.
Mouse Brain (bottom)
Researchers tested laboratory strains of rats and mice for addiction traits, such as high preference for certain drugs or alcohol, then selectively bred those rodents to generate lines of animals with very specific addiction profiles. Because the human and mouse brain are so similar in the way they perceive 'pleasure', determining the genes responsible for these differences in drug or alcohol tolerances could help scientists discover how to help a human better recover from an addiction.
Breast Cancer
Chemical structure of Losartan
A drug called Losartan is administered to malignant tumours in mice, and was found that the tumours shrank by nearly a third.
Autism
Monitoring of activity in different parts of a mouse's brain affected by autism
Scientists found evidence that more than one gene is involved in people with genetic-based autism. After many tests, they found two genes in mice that, when mutated, caused autism-like symptoms. The genes interacted to affect brain growth and sociability. Finding a way to repair these isolated genes could lead to a cure for autism.
Cloning Mice
A few of the cloned mice
Using the same technique that created Dolly the sheep, researchers in Japan identified a way to produce healthy mouse clones that live a normal lifespan and can be sequentially cloned indefinitely. They used a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SNCT) to produce 581 clones of one original "donor" mouse through 25 consecutive rounds of cloning. SNCT had not been very reliable in the past, and this research helped to set foundations for the future possibilities of cloning.
Stem Cells
Embryonic mouse stem cells
16 mice were brought onboard the space shuttle Discovery in 2010, and researchers used their embryonic stem cells to study the effects of microgravity on stem cells’ role in the repair and regeneration of tissue. The mice were infected with pathogenic bacteria, and the cell's reactions, while in space, gave scientists unique insight into conditions faced by astronauts during spaceflight, as well as how cells in our bodies normally behave or transition to disease caused by infection, immune disorders, or cancer.
Gene Therapy
A diagram showing restorative DNA entering a gene structure
Mice have been used to develop the next generation of medical treatments. Using hollow nanometre-sized particles of silver to deliver DNA into the cells of mice, scientists have managed to reverse some of the symptoms of haemophilia. Gene therapy such as this can compensate for the effects of diseases caused by mutated DNA by delivering a "correct" copy of the genetic material to a site in the body.
Blindness
The effects of Macular Degeneration
Testing of blood proteins in mice has lead to a drug being made from mouse antibodies that can slow a type of macular degeneration, a major cause of blindness.
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia cells
By setting up mouse models of leukemias, scientists were able to test the effects of large amounts of chemicals in a controlled environment, with animals of a known genetic makeup (genome). This led to chemical agents, such as nitrogen mustard, being identified for causing tumours. It also helped scientists to isolate potential anti-leukemia agents.
Mouse Stand-ins
A billboard raising awareness about the benefits of animal testing
This is a relatively new development in science, only coming to public light last year. It is now possible to give a mouse part of a patient's disease, so that the mouse can serve as the patient's personal guinea pig, so to speak. These 'mini-me' versions of a human's condition allow scientists the opportunities to test drugs on the mice counterparts, to find out which ones will be efficacious, without exposing the patient to any toxicity. If a drug is effective at helping the mouse, there is a high chance that the human will benefit as a result of the drug as well. The 'copy' mouse can also develop cells that correspond to the patient's cells, for example,"personalized immune mice" might produce immune cells that can be transplanted into a human patient to help fight disease.