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.; Gardner, D.S.

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.

Citation

Sinclair, K. D., Corr, S., Gutierrez, C. G., Fisher, P., Lee, J., Rathbone, A., …Gardner, D. (2016). Healthy ageing of cloned sheep. Nature Communications, 7, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12359

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 27, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jul 26, 2016
• Publication Date: Jul 26, 2016
• Deposit Date: Nov 3, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 3, 2016
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Electronic ISSN: 2041-1723
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 7
• Article Number: 12359
• Pages: 1-10
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12359
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/799495
• Publisher URL: http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12359