Animal model for Parkinson’s disease

At the moment no animal models are available for human Parkinson’s disease. Everyone knows the importance to have right model to study a disease or test drug to care it; this lack must be rapidly overcome, giving the high number of people that suffers for this disease.

Michael J Fox Foundation and Sigma Aldrich set up a rat model in which it was possible to measure neurological damages and show symptomatically what is seen in Parkinson’s disease. Scientists knocked down five genes involved in the disease: leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), α-synuclein (SNCA), DJ-1 (PARK7), Parkin (PARK2) and PTEN induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1). In this way only genes ownregulated in the disease can be studied, but this is the first step to build more accurate and useful models. They applied the Zinc Finger Nuclease to insert mutations in DNA of one day old rat embryo, then transplanted the embryos into pseudo-pregnant rat and obtain KO offspring. With ZFN technique is possible to eliminate the necessity to bred heterozygous chimeric mice to obtain KO animals. Genetically manipulated rats are now commercially available also for Parkinson’s disease and this opens new challenging opportunities to care this disease.