PEOPLE who love cats but are allergic to them might soon be able to buy a
compatible feline companion. Last week, an American company announced plans to
create genetically modified cats whose skin doesn’t secrete the protein that
causes most allergies.
“We’re both allergic to cats. We’d love to have a cat in our home,” says
Jackie Avner. With husband David Avner she owns Transgenic Pets of Syracuse, New
York.
David Avner has a patent pending on the idea of genetically altering pets to
remove allergens. Transgenic Pets also has a contract with Xiangzhong “Jerry”
Yang, a cloning expert at the University of Connecticut, to produce the
cats.
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They hope to create modified cats within three years and will eventually sell
them for about $1000 each. The animals will be spayed or neutered before
sale.
Most people who are allergic to cats react to a protein called Fel d 1, which
is secreted onto a cat’s fur. Jay Morgenstern, who identified the gene for the
protein, thinks it plays a minor role in protecting the cat from bacteria. “We
don’t really know. We’ll just have to [remove] it and see what happens,” says
Yang.
He plans use a combination of “gene targeting” and cloning. Gene targeting
will be used to alter skin cells so they contain faulty copies of the gene. The
altered cells will then be fused with egg cells, as in cloning. If the resulting
modified cats are healthy, they will be interbred, and their offspring sold.
“It’s a very challenging project. We’ll have to develop not just cloning
techniques in cats, but all of the related technologies,” Yang says.
Mario Capecchi at the University of Utah, who pioneered gene targeting, says
there’s no reason why the project won’t work. “The technology is definitely
there.” However, the Avners still need to raise $2.1 million to go ahead
with their project.
Yang’s “try it and see” approach doesn’t satisfy Troy Seidle, an adviser for
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in Virginia. “Without knowing what a
gene does, it’s premature to conclude that there wouldn’t be an adverse effect.
There’s potential for suffering.”