DNA-based animal models of human disease: from genotype to phenotype.

Biomedical research utilizes animal models to elucidate human disease processes at the cellular and molecular level and for the development of new therapies. Traditionally, mammalian models have been limited to the mouse, primarily because of well characterized genetic lines and the ability to manipulate the genome to directly test hypotheses regarding causal mutations and disease phenotypes. The emerging availability of genome sequences of other mammals (bovine, canine, equine, feline, and porcine) now permits utilization of the mammal in which the phenotype best approximates the human condition. Equally important is the use of somatic cell nuclear cloning (SCNT) coupled with targeted germline manipulation to create animals to resolve the molecular mechanisms of the disease state. Our efforts have focused on the pig, which has emerged as an important biomedical mammalian model due to its closer physiology to humans. The utility of porcine genetically-defined tumour, cardiovascular and neurological disease models is described.