Investigation of cell physiology in the animal using transgenic technology

Over the past 10 years significant progress has been made in techniques for manipulating the genome of the animal. Production of transgenic mice has led to important insights into the regulation of gene expression, the molecular basis of cancer, immunology, and developmental biology. The tools necessary to generate transgenic mice are becoming widely available, making it possible to study a variety of problems. In this review a description of the strategies being used to address problems of interest in cell physiology using transgenic mice is given. Elucidation of the rules governing the regulation of gene expression now permits the targeted expression of a protein to a particular organ or cell type within an organ. Overexpression of proteins, expression of foreign or mutant proteins, mislocalization of proteins, and directed elimination of proteins are all procedures that can now be used to generate interesting animal models for physiological studies. The applications of these techniques to a variety of problems in normal and abnormal physiology are discussed in this review.