Mice and rats have been guinea pigs in medical experiments for decades, including understanding cancer and testing the safety and efficacy of various drugs. However, rodents may be replaced in the near future.
Scientists at the Sloan Kettering Institute, Cancer Hospital of New York, are working to develop alternatives that reduce the number of mammals in biomedical research.
A new option for studying intestinal inflammation, a risk factor for the development of colorectal cancer, are caterpillars. The results were demonstrated in a article published in Nature Communicationsin November last year, with collaborators from several universities in Germany and Switzerland.
Why caterpillars?
One of the co-authors of the study, the nuclear physician and radiologist Jan Grimm, explains that the caterpillars were used as an alternative route to the rats because they present a high degree of similarity with the structure and physiology of the human intestine.
According to the researchers, caterpillars are basically just a long intestine, making them excellent models for studying inflammatory bowel disease.
Furthermore, as about 75% of known disease-causing genes in humans have counterparts in insects, caterpillars could be useful in future preclinical research for other conditions — cancer, diabetes, neurodegeneration and infections are just a few examples.
Grimm also says that, even though the caterpillars are approximately the size of an adult’s finger, it is possible to use them in imaging exams.
Another reason for the replacement is that experiments on caterpillars face less bureaucracy, as they are invertebrate beings, significantly accelerating research, according to the doctor.
Furthermore, mammals are very slow growing and expensive to house compared to invertebrates. Therefore, these experiments can be done at a much lower cost.
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