These Lab Beagles Just Got Promoted to the National Team

Wen/Tu JinYang reporter Chen Zeyun

After special breeding and training, some of them are sent to customs to become quarantine dogs, while others are sent to universities or research institutions to become teaching dogs or dogs for scientific research. ……

On June 13, the reporter learned from GPG that the “National Canine Laboratory Animal Resource Bank” of its Guangzhou General Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences was included in the National Science and Technology Resources Sharing Service Platform, which is also the first National Science and Technology Resources Sharing Service Platform in the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Preservation and utilization, will continue to provide more high-quality experimental dogs for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area and even the whole country, to meet the needs of pharmaceutical research, drug development, and help the construction of a healthy Bay Area.

**Master the “stuck” type of scientific and technological resources **

“The Beagle is the only experimental dog recommended by the WTO.” According to Ni Qingchun, chairman of the board of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Research Institute, the Beagle is one of the most important experimental animals in biomedicine, especially in drug screening and evaluation, and compared to small animals such as mice, canines are closer to humans in terms of physiological mechanisms and are irreplaceable experimental animals in non-clinical evaluation of drugs.

However, Beagle germplasm is now regarded as a strategic resource by foreign countries, especially the United States, which strictly controls its export and does not share it with other countries. The experimental Beagle has thus become a strategic scientific and technological resource that is “stuck” in innovative drug research.

The “National Canine Laboratory Animal Resource Bank”, located in Zengcheng, Guangzhou, is the only “National Canine Laboratory Animal Seed Center” in China approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and is responsible for the conservation and utilization of canine laboratory animal germplasm resources in China. The center, after more than 30 years of development, has established a professional research platform for pure breeding stock, standardized management and advanced technology of experimental beagle resources in China, mainly providing public service such as high-quality breeding dogs, dogs for scientific research and teaching, and quarantine dogs for related institutions. A few days ago, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology announced that the “National Canine Laboratory Animal Resource Bank” has been officially incorporated into the national science and technology resources sharing service platform, which also means that Guangzhou is another R & D platform promoted to the national team, filling the blank of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area without national science and technology resources sharing service platform.

Provides support for biomedical research in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao

It is worth mentioning that in 2015, GPRI successfully constructed the world’s first knockout Beagle model. Two Beagles were knocked out of the muscle growth inhibitor gene, and their muscle growth and development were enhanced. This technological breakthrough opens the door to the future implementation of genome-wide precision editing, and lays an important foundation for the development of other major human diseases, such as neurological diseases, cardiovascular diseases and other canine models.

According to Ni Qingchun, after being selected as a national platform, the next step for the repository is to continue to promote the experimental Beagle breeding and strengthen the development, application and mining of Beagles.

“We are accelerating the development of Beagle models for diseases such as spontaneous prostatic hypertrophy and hypertension, and we expect a breakthrough by the end of the year,” Ni Qingchun revealed.

“The orders for experimental Beagles are gradually increasing, and Hong Kong and Macau have strong demand intentions.” The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is now vigorously developing the biomedical industry. Ni hopes that after the National Canine Experimental Animal Bank is incorporated into the National Science and Technology Resources Sharing Service Platform, it will provide strong resource support and protection for the Greater Bay Area, solve the bottleneck of experimental animal resources in Hong Kong and Macao, and help the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area occupy the biomedical resources highland.

Editor: Mudong