'Supermouse' shows incredible power
Updated on 03 November 2007
The creation of a genetically modified "supermouse" with incredible physical endurance has prompted scientific speculation about the possibility of genetically enhancing human physical ability.
The mouse has extraordinary athletic prowess, managing to run at a speed of 20 metres a minute for more than five hours without stopping - a feat scientists say is similar to a man cycling very fast up an Alpine mountain.
In addition, the mouse lives longer than average and breeds for three times longer than its regular counterparts. Although it eats 60% more food than an ordinary mouse, it does not appear to put on any weight.
Research published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry explains how the mouse was created by altering a gene that affects glucose metabolism, stimulating more efficient use of body fat to produce energy. The mouse also manages to disperse lactic acid from its muscles, avoiding cramp.
The professor of biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University at Cleveland in Ohio, Richard Hanson, said that the modification was to a single metabolism gene that is shared with humans.
He told the Independent: "They are metabolically similar to Lance Armstrong biking up the Pyrenees. They utilise mainly fatty acids for energy and produce very little lactic acid. They are not eating or drinking and yet they can run for four or five hours. They are 10 times more active than ordinary mice in their home cage. They also live longer - up to three years of age - and are reproductively active for almost three years. In short, they are remarkable animals.
"On the downside, they eat twice as much as control mice, but they are half the weight, and are very aggressive. Why this is the case, we are not really sure."
The first supermouse was created about four years ago by injecting a highly active form of a gene for an enzyme called phosphonenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK-C) into a mouse embryo, but this is the first long-term study into their behaviour.
Professor Hanson said: "We humans have exactly the same gene. But this is not something that you'd do to a human. It's completely wrong. We do not think that this mouse model is an appropriate model for human gene therapy. It is currently not possible to introduce genes into the skeletal muscles of humans and it would not be ethical to even try."
He explained that the effects on the mice were so dramatic that they were easily distinguishable from the control mice from an early age. He said: "We could spot them at just a few weeks after birth. They popped around the cage like popcorn. We found that they were about 10 times as active as ordinary mice. Our animals live longer and eat almost twice as much as ordinary mice - this is a model to study."
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