Genetically engineered mouse models
Mice carrying the same mutations as human cancers so that tumours arise in the right tissue with an intact immune system; the KPC pancreatic model is the best known.
Overview
Genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) use tissue-specific promoters and inducible systems to switch on oncogenes such as Kras and delete tumour suppressors such as Trp53 or Pten, so tumours develop in situ with a native stroma and immune system. The KPC pancreatic cancer model, Kras-driven lung models and Pten-null prostate models are used to study tumour evolution, immunotherapy and prevention, and CRISPR now speeds model creation. They are slow, expensive and less genetically diverse than human tumours.
How it works
Cre-lox or inducible recombination activates or deletes cancer genes in a chosen cell type, producing autochthonous tumours over weeks to months.
- Intact immune system and native microenvironment
- Tumour initiation and evolution can be studied
- Test prevention and early detection
- Slow and costly
- Few driver mutations compared with human tumours
- Mouse-specific biology
Latest papers
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