Patent ID: 6717031
Filing Date: 2004-04-06
Classification: A01K,C07K,C12N

Abstract:
A method of selecting a transgenic mouse as a model of Alzheimer's disease, comprisingproviding a plurality of transgenic mice, each comprising a nucleic acid construct stably incorporated into the genome, wherein the construct comprises a promoter for expression of the construct in a mammalian cell and a region encoding an Au-containing protein, wherein the promoter is operatively linked to the region, wherein the region comprises DNA encoding the A&bgr;-containing protein, wherein the A&bgr;-containing protein consists of all or a contiguous portion of a protein selected from the group consisting of APP770 bearing a mutation in one or more of the amino acids selected from the a group consisting of amino acid 669, 670, 671, 690, 692, and 717, APP751 bearing a mutation in one or more of the amino acids selected from the group consisting of amino acid 669, 670, 671, 690, 692, and 717, and APP695 bearing a mutation in one or more of the amino acids selected from the group consisting of amino acid 669, 670, 671, 690, 692, and 717; a protein consisting of amino acids 672 to 770 of APP; and a protein consisting of amino acids 672 to 714 of APP; determining expression levels of APP, APP&bgr;, APP&agr; and/or A&bgr; in each of the transgenic mice; identifying a transgenic mouse wherein A&bgr;tot is expressed at a level of at least 30 nanograms per gram of brain tissue of the mouse when it is two to four months old, A&bgr;1-42 is expressed at a level of at least 8.5 nanograms per gram of brain tissue of the mouse when it is two to four months old, APP and APP&agr; combined are expressed at a level of a least 150 picomoles per gram of brain tissue of the mouse when it is two to four months old, APP&bgr; is expressed at a level of at least 40 picomoles per gram of brain tissue of the mouse when it is two to four months old, and/or mRNA encoding the A&bgr;-containing protein is expressed to a level at least twice that of mRNA encoding the cndogenous APP of the transgenic mouse in brain tissue of the mouse when it is two to four months old; using an offspring of the identified transgenic mouse as a model of Alzheimer's disease.