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Transgenic models of myocardial dysfunction

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Abstract

Transgenic Technology (TT), is an important tool in the molecular biology arena. It allows one to generate new strains of mice in which a genetic construct is expressed. The construct can be made with a promoter that allows for the targeted expression of a gene of interest to a given part of the cardiovascular system. By so doing, it is possible to modify a given physiologic function and to better understand the structural and functional relationships. This so-called “reverse physiology” is becoming extensively utilized in cardiac research. Another possibility is to use this technology to analyze which part of a promoter is responsible for the transcriptional regulation. In that case, the coding sequence is a gene not normally expressed in the tissue and is called the reporter. Mice are generally used for such a purpose because of their cost. Consequently the physiology of the mouse has been developed using microtechnologies.

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    Bernard Swynghedauw

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Swynghedauw, B. Transgenic models of myocardial dysfunction. Heart Failure Rev 1, 277–290 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00127409

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