Cardiovascular research in transgenic animals

The ability to alter specifically the expression or activity of known gene products in intact animals provides a powerful experimental system to study pathophysiology. These animal models can now be readily generated using transgenic technology. Traditional transgenic approaches rely on gain-of-function alterations, and several experimental paradigms have recently been established based on this attribute. These include assessment of promoter function, overexpression of physiologically important gene products, targeted oncogenesis, and insertional mutagenesis. Technical and practical issues relevant to the generation of such models are discussed here. In addition, several recent transgenic models germane to the cardiovascular system are presented. These experiments provide exciting new model systems to study clinical issues that heretofore have been difficult, if not impossible, to address.