THE USE OF GENETIC MODIFIED MICE AS A MODEL TO STUDY CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

Abstract

This review describes some strategies for the employment of mice in the study of cardiovascular physiology and physiopathology. Among the major advantages of using the mice, we should consider fast reproduction and low maintenance costs. Moreover, the unnumbered possibilities of genetically modification in these animals allow the development of targeted gene mutation, like transgenic mice, characterized by a introduction of a foreign DNA into its genome (knockin), or, more common, the development of knockout mice. These are animals in which a specific gene was disrupted, causing particular characteristics, such as the deficiency of a 2A receptor or the absence of the nNOS enzyme. Methodologies and techniques for cardiovascular research on mice are summarized and discussed and some results, about the use of mice in the cardiovascular study, are also showed in this review.