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La Lettre
© B.Eymann - Académie des sciences
Yvon Le Maho
Member of the Académie des sciences, Emeritus Senior
Researcher at CNRS, Institut pluridisciplinaire Hubert-Curien,
University of Strasbourg, also affiliated at the Monaco Scientific
Centre
One way to explore the huge field for investigation that
spans from the cell to the ecosystems is to consider the
question of “animal models”. This is what we call animals
by which we try to understand how our organisms function
and how to fight more efficiently against diseases. In this
context, animal biodiversity proves to be an amazing source of biomedical innovation. Now, Voyager,
sail thou forth to seek and find…
Classical models VS exotic models
First stop: the Kalahari Desert, with a strange animal, the Damaraland mole-rat. In fact, it is neither a rat,
nor a mole – it belongs to a family of animals close to the guinea pig. But as a model animal for biomedical
research, it is undoubtedly an exotic animal. Indeed, the "standard" model is the mouse: it breeds rapidly
and, being small, is quite cheap. We now have a whole range of genetically engineered mice, designed for
all sorts of so-called "mechanistic" approaches. But the key issue is the relevance of the animal model that
is being used. Because this was overlooked, tragic foetal malformations occurred after pregnant women
took thalidomide.
But let’s get back to the family of mole-rats. All have high life expectancy, including the naked mole-rat.
Less photogenic than its fellow creature from Damaraland, it may live 32 years, which is 16 times longer
than a mouse. Now, we have discovered that it is provided with a mechanism, which the mouse does not
have, preventing the proliferation of cancer cells. The editorial written by JM Sedivy, in the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS, 2009), asked then whether
and how it was relevant to devote virtually all the resources of research to the standard animal model:
“
The situation is in some ways reminiscent of the old joke of the drunk looking for his keys under the street
From the cell to the ecosystems