December 12, 2007

Canada produces 17 cloned pigs at McGill

Researchers in McGill University successfully produced three litters of cloned pigs which will be used for biomedical research.

There were 17 piglets produced from cells collected from a single pig. The cells were cultured in vitro and then injected into matured germ cells whose nuclei were removed. Developing embryos were later inserted into three female pigs - the same procedure that gave birth to Dolly, a sheep that in 1996 was the first mammal to be cloned in the same manner.

Of the 17, all were male because the original cells were harvested from a male pig. Seven were euthanized and underwent autopsies to determine any abnormalities as a result of the cloning. The remaining 10, now several weeks old, are developing normally.

Dr. Vilceu Bordignon, director of the animal research unit at McGill, said the development is a very important step toward generating transgenic animal models for research.

The cloned pigs will enable the research team to further create animals from cell lines that can be easily manipulated in vitro; which could lead to the development of new cell therapies for genetic diseases in humans, Bordignon explained.

McGill researchers are currently monitoring the growth rate of the pigs.

The research was funded with approximately US$1 million in grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Fonds quebecois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies and McGill University.