The GFP (green fluorescent protein) pig is quite a feat. It will be interesting to see what kind of research can develop from it. I actually wrote an article about the use of GFP cells to understand stem cell developmental mechanisms. As a research tool they are very useful to our understanding of how stem cells behave. Primarily because they typically are better able to get around the trouble of genetic mismatches that can cause the body to reject the transplant (or the transplant to reject the body – an often more fatal turn of events).
Pigs have been used in particular to study cardiac and related diseases in man. I will be interested to see what kind of unique research can be generated utilizing these cells. I worked with one research that used them in some of her studies relating to heart disease.
There are a couple of problems associated with GFP. First and foremost, depending on the type of genetic modification made (site specific or not..), some cells may not actually express the gene, making it somewhat difficult, if not very hard, to detect. Therefore, you can never be sure if a negative result is truly 100% negative. Another concern is that although typically thought to be inert (not having any impact on organ/system functions within the animal), GFP will not reflect exactly what happens in reality, but only partly. Again, the insertion site may disrupt some regular, though not critical cellular behavior, or, the protein it’s self could interact in a way that tweaks normality ever so slightly. It could be nothing, but from time to time, the devil ends up being in the details. Finally, in terms of utility, I don’t know the various life cycles involved in a Pig, and it’s cellular development. Often times these experiments can take years to develop and verify.
Thanks for forwarding this on! Very interesting!
-Dan