Francisco Javier Cubero

Francisco Javier Cubero

Francisco Javier Cubero
Position

Lecturer in the Department of Immunology, Ophthalmology, and ENT at the School of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid

Topics

Many of the mouse models used in laboratories show inconsistencies between their names and their genetic makeup, according to an analysis

A team from the United States analyzed 611 samples from 341 model mouse strains stored at the Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Centers (MMRRC), a research resource network supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). By comparing the identity of each strain with its actual genetic profile, they found that approximately half of the samples showed discrepancies. Although the expected engineered mutation was generally present and many inconsistencies were relatively minor, some had the potential to compromise the validity and reproducibility of the experiments by introducing hidden genetic variables that could alter biological outcomes. The findings are published in Science.

 

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Only 5% of therapies studied in animals are ever approved for use in humans

Five out of ten potential treatments move from animal studies to human studies; four to randomised controlled clinical trials; and one in 20 moves on to approval by regulatory agencies, an analysis estimates. Concordance between positive results in animals and in clinical studies is 86%, according to the study, published in PLoS Biology, which pools the findings of 122 published studies on 54 different human diseases.  

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