Grist at Ruchill Hospital's Brownlee virology laboratory in Glasgow. Nude mice were first discovered in 1962 by Dr. Then in 2000, the gene responsible for the mutation was identified as a member of the Fox gene family and the nomenclature was updated to Foxn1nu. Originally they were described as nu and this was updated to Hfh11nu when the mutated gene was identified as a mutation in the HNF-3/forkhead homolog 11 gene. The nomenclature for the nude mouse has changed several times since their discovery.
The genetic basis of the nude mouse mutation is a disruption of the FOXN1 gene. These xenografts are commonly used in research to test new methods of imaging and treating tumors. The nude mouse is valuable to research because it can receive many different types of tissue and tumor grafts, as it mounts no rejection response. The phenotype (main outward appearance) of the mouse is a lack of body hair, which gives it the 'nude' nickname. Lab mouse strain lacking immunity and fur A nude mouseĪ nude mouse is a laboratory mouse from a strain with a genetic mutation that causes a deteriorated or absent thymus, resulting in an inhibited immune system due to a greatly reduced number of T cells.
