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Use of knockout technology to resolve pharmacological problems
Author(s) -
Docherty J R
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1038/sj.bjp.0706941
Subject(s) - ephedrine , knockout mouse , function (biology) , pharmacology , dopamine , neuroscience , medicine , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , receptor
Knock‐out (KO) mouse technology has given pharmacologists a powerful tool to study function in the absence of selective antagonists or inhibitors. Such KO technology can confirm predicted function, serendipitously reveal unrecognized function, or help define the mode of action of a drug. In this issue, Liles et al . demonstrate, employing mice unable to synthesize noradrenaline due to the KO of the dopamine‐ β ‐hydroxylase gene, that the sympathomimetic actions of ephedrine are directly, rather than indirectly, mediated. This may end 50 years of debate about the actions of ephedrine. British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 150 , 1–2. doi: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0706941