China cloned dogs for genetic modification to study heart disease

China for the first time combined genetic modification and cloning technology to create atherosclerosis dogs for medical research.

Sinogene, a Chinese biotech company, successfully cloned Longlong rabbit hound from another genetically engineered dog, CNN reported yesterday. Scientists will study and look for ways to treat this disease in infected dogs.

Longlong Dog was born thanks to gene editing technology.(Photo: CNN).

On the outside, Longlong has black, brown and white three-colored fur like other normal rabbit hounds. It was cloned from Apple, the dog was intervened by scientists in the genome for atherosclerosis. The disease was passed on to Longlong as soon as the animal was born.

Sinogene claims this is the first cloned dog from genetically modified animals. With the advent of Longlong, they assert that China has become one of the leading countries in dog cloning technology.

"The cloning of dogs from genetically engineered animal cells is definitely a major breakthrough , " said Eugene Redmond, head of the Yale Medical and Transplant Research and Rehabilitation Laboratory.

Sinogene successfully cloned two dogs, Xixi and Nuonuo, in a similar way, meaning that the company now owns four dogs with identical genes.

"Dogs have many of the same genetic diseases, so they are the best models for research , " said Feng Chong, technical director at Sinogene. The birth of Longlong marked the first time scientists combined with somatic cell cloning technology, the method used to replicate.

Cloned dogs have yet to show any symptoms but researchers are closely monitoring their health, according to Mi Jidong, manager at Sinogene. Drugs to treat cardiovascular disease are also being tested on healthy animals.

Although some other countries have conducted similar studies, China is a leading country in genetically modified animals with autistic monkeys carrying humans, healthy dogs and pigs that do not carry retroviruses, a kind of material virus. Genetics is RNA.

However, like many other experiments on cloning and genetic change, Sinogene's achievements encountered many controversy. PETA said that this study is unethical. In addition to moral concerns, experimental animals in China have not been properly protected by law.

The use of genetically modified animals to study diseases is controversial.(Photo: CNN).

PETA believes that the money spent on research should be used to help wandering animals instead of creating more animals. However, Sinogene scientists believe their work serves the future of pharmaceutical development and biomedical research. The company plans to create more Longlong breeders.

On the issue of commercialization of human technology, Feng argues that making dogs edit genes more accessible can create a revolution in research in this area.

The old way to get dogs with atherosclerosis is to give them foods high in sugar and fat until symptoms appear. According to Feng, the current method of genetic modification and cloning is better for dogs. However, Keith Guo, a representative of PETA, is not sure the method is more humane because the dogs still suffer.

Dogs are respected and treated with respect, Feng said. Sinogene also intends to clone professional dogs such as police dogs, guide dogs, even ordinary pets to ensure some biological properties will be inherited.