Sigma Life Science, the biological products and services research unit of Sigma-Aldrich, has announced that its Sage Labs initiative has created a suite of knockout rat models of Parkinson's disease.
Developed in collaboration with the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) and using the proprietary Sagespeed model creation process, these off-the-shelf rat models are claimed to represent a breakthrough in Parkinson's disease research, overcoming the inherent limitations of the existing mouse models.
Knockout rat models are said to offer significant advantages over the existing mouse models, which do not effectively mimic the symptoms of Parkinson's disease in humans.
The neuronal circuitry of the rat model more closely imitates that of humans, better demonstrating the disease symptoms, and rats' size and behaviour allow researchers to perform a variety of experimental procedures more easily than in mice.
In collaboration with the MJFF, Sage Labs has used Sigma Life Science's CompoZr Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) technology to create a range of knockout rat models specific to Parkinson's disease, based on the existing knowledge of the key genes implicated in the disease.
This collection of rat models currently includes LRRK2, Parkin, Pink1 and DJ-1 knockouts, which will help researchers to accelerate the investigation of novel therapeutic strategies for Parkinson's disease.
