How will cytokine knockout mice improve reproductive medicine?
Gene ablation studies in mice can provide clues about the role of cytokines in human reproduction. Some genes associated with human reproduction have been identified using screening methods such as gene arrays, to be differentially expressed between fertile and infertile individuals or populations. However, the absolute requirement of a particular gene for fertility is virtually impossible to verify in humans, and enormous heterogeneity between individuals and the multifactorial nature of infertility add further complexity. Thus application of findings from gene ablation studies in mice can be invaluable in shedding light upon reproductive processes in humans, in combination with comparison of expression patterns in human tissues and in vitro functional studies. Improving in vitro fertilization Maternal-derived GM-CSF was shown by mouse knockout studies to improve pre-implantation embryo development, fetal and placental growth, and pup weight and survival (Robertson et al., 1999, 2001)
