Nature Neuroscience
5, 633 - 639 (2002)
doi:10.1038/nn0702-633
Genetically engineered mouse models of neurodegenerative diseasesPhilip C. Wong1, 2, 4, Huaibin Cai1, 2, 4, David R. Borchelt1, 2, 4
& Donald L. Price1, 2, 3, 41
Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 558 Ross Research Building, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21205-2196, USA
2
Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 558 Ross Research Building, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21205-2196, USA
3
Department of Neurology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 558 Ross Research Building, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21205-2196, USA
4
The Division of Neuropathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 558 Ross Research Building, 720 Rutland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21205-2196, USA
Correspondence should be addressed to Philip C. Wong wong@jhmi.eduRecent research has significantly advanced our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and motor neuron disease. Here we emphasize the use of genetically engineered mouse models that are instrumental for understanding why AD is a neuronal disease, and for validating attractive therapeutic targets. In motor neuron diseases, Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase and survival motor neuron mouse models are useful in testing disease mechanisms and therapeutic strategies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal motor atrophy, respectively, but the mechanisms that account for selective motor neuron loss remain uncertain. We anticipate that, in the future, therapies based on understanding disease mechanisms will be identified and tested in mouse model systems.
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