Portal de Pesquisa da BVS Veterinária

Acta sci. vet. (Impr.); 38(supl.2): s627-s632, 2010.

Artigo em Inglês | VETINDEX | ID: biblio-1411923

Resumo

Background: The current status of genetic engineering animals for biomedical and human health applications, including improving the supply of animal-based food products, was reviewed. Although transgenic animals have been available for almost 30 years only one product, a drug derived from transgenic goats' milk, has been approved for use anywhere in the world. While a number of technical issues limited efficiency initially, products coming to market were hindered by the lack of a regulatory framework and compounded by opposition from anti-biotechnology groups. Review: As presented in the review, the production of genetically engineered livestock has progressed from the initial technology of pronuclear microinjection through to the wide-spread use today of somatic cell nuclear transfer-based cloning technology following the transfection of cells in culture with methods such as lipofection or electroporation. There also was significant progress in the development of systems based upon lentivirus or adeno-associated virus-based vectors. More recently, advances occurred based on transposon-mediated transgenesis. In conjunction with advances in methods to genetically engineer livestock, there are also advances, such as the use of zinc-finger nucleases and transient depletion of endogenous non-homologous recombination systems, to increase the efficiency of homologous recombination-based gene targeting. Applications range from the production of pharmaceutical proteins, silk for use in sutures and scaffolds for cellular regeneration, and xenotransplantation through to the development of transgenic animals that improve animal production and the nutritional value of animal-based food products. Both of these agricultural applications are important for maintaining the global production of sufficient meat-based products in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner in the face of a dramatically increasing human population. Conclusion: Advances in the production of genetically engineered animals and identification of useful applications have significantly improved and have set the stage for the adoption of transgenic animals. Brazil, because of recent technological developments and the adoption of regulatory guidelines is now in a strong position to benefit from genetically engineered animals and to contribute to the leadership in the adoption of transgenic animals for applications to improve human and animal health and well-being.

Biblioteca responsável: BR68.1