Pigs, Fish, and Jellyfish are Being Used to Trace Nervous Disorders in Humans

A recent article explains how scientists at Aarhus University are using pigs, jellyfish, and zebrafish as a tool in identifying and understanding hereditary forms of diseases that affect the nervous system. Specifically, disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and forms of ALS are being studied. In pigs, scientists have focused on the SYN1 gene, which encodes for the protein that is involved in communication between nerve cells, synapsin. Synapsin occurs primarily in the nerve cells of the brain, so parts of the SYN1 gene are capable of being used to control the expression of genes that are connected to hereditary versions of various nervous disorders. In order to ensure that the SYN1 gene was exclusively expressed in nerve cells, scientists attached the gene to the green fluorescent protein gene in jellyfish and put it into zebrafish. Senior scientist Knud Larson of Aarhus University explained why GFP was attached to the SYN1 gene: "We could clearly see that the transparent zebrafish shone green in its nervous system as a result of the SYN1 gene from humans initiating processes in the nervous system. We could thus conclude that SYN1 works specifically in nerve cells.” 

Disorders of the nervous system typically involve some loss of cognitive or physical function

The SYN1 gene was then inserted into pigs, mainly because the animal is incredibly well suited as a model for human diseases. Pigs are specifically being used to study nuerodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease. In addition to studying nervous disorders through controlling the expression of the SYN1 gene, the gene may also be used in the future for research pertaining to fetal development of the brain and nervous system. I chose this article because I believe that it is truly incredible that these diseases which affect the nervous system are being studied more in depth. Many of these disease are incurable and terminal, so many studies pertaining to such diseases have only been performed after an individual or subject has died. Targeting the gene that controls the expression of synapsin can definitely lead to better treatment for disorders of the nervous system. If scientists can control the expression of the SYN1 gene in order to create disease in test subjects, then it is not radical to think that the expression of the gene can then be used to reverse the symptoms of such nervous disorders. 

Pigs are used because they are readily available and they closely mimic humans in their relative size, genetics, and their anatomy and physiology

Inheritance of various nervous disorders