Research into COVID-19 is rapidly evolving, and Taconic Biosciences' Dr. Megan MacBride explains in a recent article in Drug Discovery World how mouse models will enable researchers to move forward with SARS-CoV-2 research. She also provides examples of several genetically-engineered mouse models that were previously developed to study SARS, a closely-related coronavirus, may be viable candidates for studying COVID-19 viral infection:
"The CRISPR/Cas9 system, and variants of it, allows for in-vivo modifications including gene knockouts, certain knockins and the introduction of conditional alleles. One field which has seen exponential growth in the use of CRISPR/Cas9 is the generation of custom genetically engineered mouse and rat models. As compared to other genetic modification techniques, the use of CRISPR/Cas9 in the development of rodent models requires less time, effort and expense, enabling investigators to obtain a study cohort sooner and more cost-effectively."
Read more at: ddw-online.com
"The CRISPR/Cas9 system, and variants of it, allows for in-vivo modifications including gene knockouts, certain knockins and the introduction of conditional alleles. One field which has seen exponential growth in the use of CRISPR/Cas9 is the generation of custom genetically engineered mouse and rat models. As compared to other genetic modification techniques, the use of CRISPR/Cas9 in the development of rodent models requires less time, effort and expense, enabling investigators to obtain a study cohort sooner and more cost-effectively."