Healthy ageing of cloned sheep

Sinclair, K.D., Corr, S.A. , Gutierrez, C.G., Fisher, P.A., Lee, J.-H., Rathbone, A.J., Choi, I., Campbell, K.H.S. and Gardner, D.S. (2016) Healthy ageing of cloned sheep. Nature Communications, 7, 12359. (doi: 10.1038/ncomms12359) (PMID:27459299) (PMCID:PMC4963533)

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Abstract

The health of cloned animals generated by somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been of concern since its inception; however, there are no detailed assessments of late-onset, non-communicable diseases. Here we report that SCNT has no obvious detrimental long-term health effects in a cohort of 13 cloned sheep. We perform musculoskeletal assessments, metabolic tests and blood pressure measurements in 13 aged (7-9 years old) cloned sheep, including four derived from the cell line that gave rise to Dolly. We also perform radiological examinations of all main joints, including the knees, the joint most affected by osteoarthritis in Dolly, and compare all health parameters to groups of 5- and 6-year-old sheep, and published reference ranges. Despite their advanced age, these clones are euglycaemic, insulin sensitive and normotensive. Importantly, we observe no clinical signs of degenerative joint disease apart from mild, or in one case moderate, osteoarthritis in some animals. Our study is the first to assess the long-term health outcomes of SCNT in large animals.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:The University of Nottingham provided financial support for this study.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Corr, Sandra
Authors: Sinclair, K.D., Corr, S.A., Gutierrez, C.G., Fisher, P.A., Lee, J.-H., Rathbone, A.J., Choi, I., Campbell, K.H.S., and Gardner, D.S.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Journal Name:Nature Communications
Publisher:Nature Research
ISSN:2041-1723
ISSN (Online):2041-1723
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2016 The Authors
First Published:First published in Nature Communications 7: 12359
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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