The Human Gene Successfully Transplanted to A Mouse

A domestic research team successfully transplanted the human gene, which detoxifies harmful chemical substances in the body, to a laboratory mouse for the first time in the world.

Such a development is expected to help researchers make more accurate evaluations of the effect or toxicity when it is applied to the development of new medicines. The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) announced on Dec. 12,Using gene transplant technology, a research team headed by Dr. Kim Young-Kyu succeeded in genetically engineering `a humanized mouse`, to which the human CYP gene, an enzyme of pharmacokinetics, was transplanted.

The result of this research was printed in the November cover story of a worldly known U.S. international academic journal in the field of biochemistry and biophysics, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Dr. Kim`s research team injected the human CYP gene to a nucleus of a female mouse, then made a fertilized egg by combining it with a nucleus of a male mouse. Then the fertilized egg was transplanted into a surrogate mother mouse, which later gave birth to a `humanized mouse`.

Dr. Kim explained, "This laboratory mouse has the same gene as the human CYP gene, and shows a similar pharmacokinetics as that of humans when chemical substances such as medicines, food additives or environmental hormones are injected."

Moon Chul fullmoon@donga.com