Mini pigs cloned from skin cells offer new perspectives on the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

For decades, researchers from around the world have struggled to understand Alzheimer's disease
.

Because of the genetic mutation, pigs develop symptoms
of Alzheimer's at a very young age.

"By tracking the changes in pigs over time, we can better understand the earliest changes
in the cells.

"Pigs are similar to humans in many ways, which is why this increases the likelihood of
producing anti-Alzheimer's drugs.

Pigs cloned from skin cells

Since the 1990s, researchers have known that there are three genes — if they mutate — that can directly cause Alzheimer's
.

Through intensive research over the past 20 years, it has now been established that mutations in the fourth gene, SORL1, can also directly lead to widespread dementia
.

"We created an animal model
in mini pigs by altering one of the four genes currently known to be directly related to Alzheimer's.

Previously, researchers have also developed pig models
of Alzheimer's and other diseases through cloning.

In this study, the researchers previously used CRISPR-Cas9-based gene editing to disrupt the SORL1 gene
in small pig skin cells.

Charlotte Brandt Sørensen, associate professor responsible for developing genetically modified cloned pigs, said: "These pigs resemble Alzheimer's patients with defects in the SORL1 gene, which contrasts with previous models of Alzheimer's pigs, which inserted one or more mutated human genes in the hope of accelerating the development of the
disease.

Test the drug

Associate Professor Olav Michael Andersen said the study has important points
.

The Danish company Ellegaard Göttingen Minipigs owns the rights to this breed of pigs and is raising them
.

Alzheimer's disease and genetics

• Both genetic and environmental factors can be the cause
  of Alzheimer's disease.

  
  

• Of all Alzheimer's patients, only about 3 percent are directly responsible for the disease due to a known genetic mutation
  .

  
  

• The SORL1 gene was discovered
  in 1996 at Aarhus University.

  
  

• The study of cloning mini pigs is one of the reasons why Associate Professor Olav Michael Andersen received the Alzheimer's Disease Research Foundation Foundation Award for Basic Research at the end of
  September 2022.

  
  

Olav M.
Andersen, Nikolaj Bø gh, Anne M.
Landau, Gro G.
Plø en, Anne Mette G.
Jensen, Giulia Monti, Benedicte P.
Ulhø i, Jens R.
Nyengaard, Kirsten R.
Jacobsen, Margarita M.
Jø rgensen, Ida E.
Holm, Marianne L.
Kristensen, Aage Kristian O.
Alstrup, Esben S.
S.
Hansen, Charlotte E.
Teunissen, Laura Breidenbach, Mathias Droescher, Ying Liu, Hanne S.
Pedersen, Henrik Callesen, Yonglun Luo, Lars Bolund, David J.
Brooks, Christoffer Laustsen, Scott A.
Small, Lars F.
Mikkelsen, Charlotte B.
Sø rensen.
A genetically modified minipig model for Alzheimer’ s disease with SORL1 haploinsufficiency.
Cell Reports Medicine, 2022; 3 (9): 100740