Us experiment shows that genetic engineering can prevent BSE

Introduction: Washington, Xinhua (reporter Mao Lei) US researchers recently conducted genetic engineering operations on experimental mice, which successfully enabled them to resist the infection of the pathogen of spongiform encephalopathy The discovery is seen by some scientists as a "breakthrough" in the field of mad cow disease research BSE and its manifestations in human body, such as the new type of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, are caused by the variation of saw protein (also known as prion protein) Saw proteins are found in mammals, including human beings They are harmless in normal form, but they will lead to dementia type infectious spongiform encephalopathy Previous studies have shown that the variation of normal saw protein is not always pathogenic, but some variation forms of the protein can "prevent disease", which can protect animals from the harm of pathogenic saw protein Dr Safar of the University of California, San Francisco and others used mice as models, providing further evidence for this Safar and others reported in the new issue of the Journal of the National Academy of Sciences that they first carried out genetic engineering operations on the experimental mice in the study, which caused significant changes in the amino acids that make up the normal saw protein in their bodies After the mice developed and matured, the researchers injected them with high doses of pathogenic saw protein, and found that although some of them produced pathogenic saw protein, none of the experimental mice actually showed complete symptoms of spongiform encephalopathy At the same time, the researchers also selected a group of mice carrying normal saw protein as control subjects, but these mice were all suffering from fatal spongiform encephalopathy after receiving the injection of pathogenic saw protein Some experts commented that the latest research results of Safar and others show that sponge encephalopathy, if not eradicated, is at least likely to be completely prevented Safar said their next goal is to use similar genetic engineering methods to develop cattle resistant to BSE (author:) share to feed Weibo share to: