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Cloned Minipigs Support Fourth Gene Mutation as Causal for Alzheimer’s Disease

September 26, 2022

Via: GEN

Collaborating researchers at Aarhus University’s department of biomedicine and department of clinical medicine have harnessed CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology to generate a herd of Göttingen minipigs that could help to advance Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research and potentially unlock future treatment strategies.

The cloned pigs were born with a mutation in the gene SORL1 (sortilin-related receptor 1), which is altered in up to 2–3% of all early-onset cases of Alzheimer’s in humans. Studying the animals, the researchers confirmed that pigs with the SORL1 mutation develop signs of Alzheimer’s disease at a young age, providing an opportunity to follow the early stages and signs of the disease. The cloned animals also showed changes in the same biomarkers that are used to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in people.

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