Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 53226, USA.
Mamm Genome. 2011 Aug;22(7-8):466-75. doi: 10.1007/s00335-011-9346-2. Epub 2011 Jul 6.
Rat models have been used for many decades to study physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms. Prior to the release of the rat genome and new technologies for targeting gene manipulation, the rat had been the underdog in the genomics era, despite the abundance of physiological data compared to the mouse. The overarching goal of biomedical research is to improve health and advance medical science. Translating human disease gene discovery and validation in the rat, through the use of emerging technologies and integrated tools and databases, is providing power to understand the genetics, environmental influences, and biology of disease. In this review we briefly outline the rat models, bioinformatics tools, and technologies that are changing the landscape of translational research. The strategies used to translate disease traits to genes to function, and, ultimately, to improve human health is discussed. Finally, our perspective on how rat models will continue to positively impact biomedical research is provided.
几十年来，老鼠模型一直被用于研究生理和病理生理学机制。在大鼠基因组发布和靶向基因操作的新技术出现之前，尽管与小鼠相比，大鼠拥有丰富的生理学数据，但在基因组学时代，大鼠一直处于劣势。生物医学研究的首要目标是改善健康和推进医学科学。通过使用新兴技术和集成工具及数据库，将人类疾病基因的发现和验证从大鼠转化为现实，为理解疾病的遗传学、环境影响和生物学提供了强大的动力。在这篇综述中，我们简要概述了改变转化研究格局的大鼠模型、生物信息学工具和技术。讨论了将疾病特征转化为基因功能，最终改善人类健康的策略。最后，我们还提供了对大鼠模型如何继续积极影响生物医学研究的看法。
