Ten organisations account for half of all animal research in Great Britain in 2023 

• 99% of procedures carried out in mice, fish, and rats 

• 82% of procedures caused pain equivalent to, or less than, an injection 

• 69 research institutions have proactively shared their 2023 animal research statistics 

Download '10 organisations carried out 54% of research in GB in 2023'.

Today, 11 September 2024, Understanding Animal Research (UAR) has published a list of the ten organisations that carried out the highest number of animal procedures – those used in medical, veterinary, and scientific research – in Great Britain in 2023. These statistics are freely available on the organisations’ websites as part of their ongoing commitment to transparency and openness around the use of animals in research.  

This list coincides with the publication of the Home Office’s report on the statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain in 2023.  

The ten listed organisations were responsible for 1,435,009 procedures, 54% (over half) of the 2,681,686 procedures carried out on animals for scientific research in Great Britain in 2023*. Of these 1,435,009 procedures, more than 99% were carried out on mice, fish and rats and 82% were classified as causing pain equivalent to, or less than, an injection.  

For more information on the 2023 animal research statistics for Great Britain, you can read our analysis.

The ten organisations are listed below alongside the total number of procedures they carried out in 2023. Each organisation’s name links to its animal research webpage, which includes more detailed statistics. Case studies explaining how animal research has been used in recent medical research are also provided in the Notes to Editors section. This is the ninth consecutive year that organisations have come together to publicise their collective statistics and examples of their research. 

Organisation	Number of Procedures (2023)
University of Cambridge	223,787
University of Oxford	194,913
The Francis Crick Institute	192,920
UCL	176,019
University of Edinburgh	139,881
Medical Research Council	124,156
University of Manchester	110,885
King's College London	109,779
University of Glasgow	102,089
Imperial College London	60,580
TOTAL	1,435,009

Sixty-nine organisations have voluntarily published their 2023 animal research statistics 

UAR has also produced a list (see appendix) of 69 organisations in the UK that have publicly shared their 2023 animal research statistics. This includes organisations that carry out or fund animal research. 

All organisations are committed to the ethical framework called the ‘3Rs’ of replacement, reduction and refinement. This means avoiding or replacing the use of animals where possible, minimising the number of animals used per experiment and optimising the experience of the animals to improve animal welfare. However, as institutions expand and conduct more research, the total number of animals used can rise even if fewer animals are used per study.   

All organisations listed are signatories to the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK, which commits them to being more open about the use of animals in scientific, medical and veterinary research in the UK. More than 125 organisations have signed the Concordat, including UK universities, medical research charities, research funders, learned societies and commercial research organisations.  

Wendy Jarrett, Chief Executive of Understanding Animal Research, which developed the Concordat on Openness, said: 

“Animal research remains a small but vital part of the quest for new medicines, vaccines and treatments for humans and animals. Alternative methods are gradually being phased in, but, until we have sufficient reliable alternatives available, it is important that organisations that use animals in research maintain the public’s trust in them. By providing this level of information about the numbers of animals used, and the experience of those animals, as well as details of the medical breakthroughs that derive from this research, these Concordat signatories are helping the public to make up their own minds about how they feel about the use of animals in scientific research in Great Britain.”    

Professor Anna Philpott, Head of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Cambridge, said: 

“Cambridge research is changing how we understand health and ageing, and how we treat disease. Animal research continues to play a small but vital role in this work and in the development of ground-breaking new medical devices and drug treatments. We are committed to using animals only where there is no alternative as a means of making progress.”  

James Bussell, Director of Biomedical Services at the University of Oxford, said: 

“Research involving animals plays a small but important part in a broad range of biomedical research at Oxford, benefitting both humans and animals across areas including conservation, heart disease and vaccines. 

Researchers at the University of Oxford are actively researching technologies that will reduce our dependence on animals for research, but in the meantime, we work hard to maintain the highest possible standards of welfare for those animals that we do use and ensure that all research involving animals is strictly controlled and monitored.” 

Sarah Hart-Johnson, Director of the Crick’s Biological Research Facility, said: 

“These figures provide a snapshot of our activity each year. But we are continuously analysing and interrogating our use of animals in research, both to bring about benefits for our science and scientists, pioneering new approaches, and importantly, to bring about improvements to our management and care of animals. 

Our commitment to openness shows the importance we place on the use of animals research. While new technologies and techniques have completely transformed our ability to study health and disease, animal research remains an integral part of the majority of biomedical studies.” 

Professor Geraint Rees, UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement), said: 

“Our world-leading biomedical scientists at UCL rely on a growing range of methods to carry out our groundbreaking research tackling global challenges, improving people’s health and wellbeing, and saving lives. Animal research remains a vital research tool which our scientists carry out only when strictly necessary, while upholding the highest standards of animal welfare. Our researchers strive to devise ways to replace animals in research, reduce their usage, or refine their methods to mitigate harm, without detracting from the high quality and impact of the research.” 

Dr Catherine Martin, Vice-Principal Corporate Services, University of Edinburgh, said: 

“Research involving animals plays an important role in helping world-leading researchers at the University of Edinburgh to address some of the most difficult problems in human and animal health. We use alternatives wherever it is possible, but some important questions can still only be answered by using animals as part of our research. As an institution, we are deeply committed to maintaining the highest standards of animal welfare, and to putting into practice the principles of replacing, refining and reducing the use of animals in our research.” 

Dr Claire Newland, MRC Director Policy, Ethics and Governance, said: 

“The MRC supports the highest quality research that has led to the development of life-saving treatments and advanced our understanding of basic human biology. 

The use of animals has been necessary for many of these developments, including recent breakthroughs to identify potential treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a muscle wasting genetic disorder that mainly affects young boys. 

MRC-funded research has the highest possible standards of animal welfare and is guided by the principles of replacing, refining and reducing the use of animals. We uphold the commitments of UKRI’s position statement on involving animals in research and innovation and the recently published UKRI policy to improve protections for animals and research reproducibility while better supporting researchers whose work involves animals.” 

Dr Maria Kamper, Director of the Biological Services Facility at the University of Manchester said: 

“At The University of Manchester we are deeply committed to the highest standards of animal welfare and quality in research as well as transparency and openness as signatories of the Concordat on Openness, as one of the organisations to achieve Leaders in Openness status. As a result of this commitment, we have recently achieved accreditation from the prestigious AAALAC International. A prestigious global benchmark, AAALAC International accreditation signifies an institution’s dedication to achieving and maintaining high standards in animal care. It demonstrates that we are at the forefront of responsible and cutting-edge research and underscores our commitment to advancing science responsibly and humanely. 

We have a proud culture of care among our staff working with animals at the University, based on collaboration and the highest standard of animal husbandry. That is why we pledge to be committed to pro-actively building and maintaining a sustainable environment where animal welfare, human wellbeing, scientific quality and transparency with stakeholders and the public are paramount. This commitment reflects our desire to contribute to The University of Manchester’s vision of advancing education, knowledge, and wisdom, for the good of society.” 

Dr Julie Keeble, Director of Biological Services at King's College London, said: 

“At King's, we continue to support world-class research involving animals that prioritises animal welfare. Every experiment is reviewed at multiple levels to ensure that the best outcomes can be achieved. We see excellent research impacts from studies involving animals but continually reinforce the replacement, reduction and refinement of the use of animals for scientific purposes.” 

David Duncan, University of Glasgow Deputy Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer, said: 

“Research using animals makes a vital contribution to the understanding, treatment and cure of a range of major diseases and viruses in humans such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and COVID-19. Animals are used in research only where it is essential, and the University remains committed to the principles of reduction, refinement, and replacement. The University is committed to the development of alternative methods – such as computer modelling, tissue culture, cell and molecular biology, and research with human material – but some work involving animals must continue for further advances in medical sciences to be made. All research undertaken on animals is conducted under strict ethical and welfare guidelines, under licence by the Home Office.” 

Professor Marina Botto, Director of Bioservices at Imperial College London, said: 

“Every day we’re making life-changing discoveries in the fields of dementia, aging, gut health and sleep, which is why animal models continue to be essential in medical research. At Imperial, we continually strive towards the highest standards of animal welfare - reflected in our accreditation by AAALAC Interntional, which promotes the humane treatment of animals in science. This achievement is thanks to the efforts of all of our staff in creating this culture of excellent care. 

All research involving animals at Imperial is undertaken with the utmost respect for the 3Rs – replacement, reduction and refinement. Over the next ten years, Imperial will continue to inspire the 3Rs among our staff and educate future generations about animal research. Our new 3Rs Hub will give Imperial staff, students, and external stakeholders easy access to educational material and resources to implement the 3Rs in their work.” 

 

-Ends- 

 

Notes to Editors 

For more information, contact Hannah Hobson (hhobson@uar.org.uk). 

The hashtag for social media is #AnimalStats.  

Understanding Animal Research (UAR) is a not-for-profit organisation that explains how and why animals are used in scientific research in the UK. Our supporters include government agencies, scientific societies, universities, veterinary schools, research funding bodies, industry and charity. Our supporters both use animals and lead the development of non-animal methods. 

A list of recent animal research case studies from contributing organisations can be found below.   

Further information on the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK can be found here: http://concordatopenness.org.uk  

These figures refer to procedures using animals for medical, veterinary, or scientific research, as licensed by the UK’s Home Office under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The use of animals to test tobacco products was banned in the UK in 1997 and it has been illegal to use animals to test cosmetic products in this country since 1998. A policy ban on household product testing using animals was introduced in 2010. Since 2013, it has been illegal to sell or import cosmetics anywhere in the UK or the EU where the finished product or its ingredients have been tested on animals.  

*The Home Office recorded 2,681,686 completed procedures for Great Britain in 2023, 1,435,009 (54%) of which were carried out at these ten organisations.  

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-living-animals-great-britain-2023 

Full table of procedures broken down by species from top ten organisations:  

Organisation	Total Procedures (2023)	Mice	Fish	Rats	Birds	Dogs	Monkeys	Other animals
University of Cambridge	223,787	172,001	47,204	3,428			51	1,103
University of Oxford	194,913	192,039	2,047	611	74		10	132
The Francis Crick Institute	192,920	172,825	19,995					100
UCL	176,019	109,530	63,438	2,180				871
University of Edinburgh	139,881	86,171	42,665	8,199	1,599			1,247
Medical Research Council	124,156	124,104		20			35
University of Manchester	110,885	80,030	24,587	2,214				4,054
King's College London	109,779	87,132	20,777	1,844				26
University of Glasgow	102,089	97,206	2,788	880	646	2		567
Imperial College London	60,580	57,056	1,496	1,114	25			889
Total	1,435,009	1,178,094	224,997	20,490	2,344	2	96	8,989

All numbers represent completed procedures on animals in 2023. The number of procedures carried out using animals will be slightly higher than the number of animals used, as a small number of animals may be used in more than one procedure. 

Full table of procedures broken down by severity categories from top ten organisations: 

Organisation	Sub-Threshold	Non-Recovery	Mild	Moderate	Severe	Total Procedures (2023)
University of Cambridge	82,369	1,535	97,556	38,794	3,533	223,787
University of Oxford	124,944	2,049	38,120	27,661	2,139	194,913
The Francis Crick Institute	129,466	701	38,405	23,035	1,313	192,920
UCL	57,061	4,741	82,540	31,054	623	176,019
University of Edinburgh	80,322	2,462	37,951	17,304	1,842	139,881
Medical Research Council	86,589	2,378	25,706	5,588	3,898	124,156
University of Manchester	60,998	1,109	25,226	18,995	4,557	110,885
King's College London	38,765	1,973	50,191	16,944	1,906	109,779
University of Glasgow	56,498	543	21,888	21,830	1,330	102,089
Imperial College London	19,197	690	22,682	16,913	1,098	60,580
Total	736,209 (51.3%)	18,181 (1.3%)	440,265 (30.7%)	218,118 (15.2%)	22,239 (1.5%)	1,435,009

Examples of severity 

Severity assessments measure the harm experienced by an animal during a procedure. A procedure can be as mild as an injection, or as severe as an organ transplant. Severity assessments reflect the peak severity of the entire procedure and are classified into five different categories:  

Sub-threshold: When a procedure did not cause suffering above the threshold for regulation, i.e. it was less than the level of pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm that is caused by inserting a hypodermic needle according to good veterinary practice. 

Non-recovery: When the entire procedure takes place under general anaesthetic and the animal is humanely killed before waking up. 

Mild: Any pain or suffering experienced was only slight or transitory and minor so that the animal returns to its normal state within a short period of time. For example, the equivalent of an injection or having a blood sample taken. 

Moderate: The procedure caused a significant and easily detectable disturbance to an animal’s normal state, but this was not life threatening. For example, surgery carried out under general anaesthesia followed by painkillers during recovery. 

Severe: The procedure caused a major departure from the animal’s usual state of health and well-being. This would usually include long-term disease processes where assistance with normal activities such as feeding and drinking were required, or where significant deficits in behaviours/activities persist. Animals found dead are commonly classified as severe as pre-mortality suffering often cannot be assessed.  
 

List of 69 UK organisations that have proactively shared their 2023 animal research statistics: 

CASE STUDIES 

University of Cambridge 
Egging on vital research 

The actin cytoskeleton is a system of long filaments, vital in embryonic development. Problems with its control have been linked to the kidney problems experienced by patients with the rare conditions called Lowe syndrome and Dent disease 2. But since the actin cytoskeleton is in all the cells of the body it has been very difficult to translate an understanding of it into a drug treatment. 

Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow Dr Jenny Gallop at the University of Cambridge has created a simpler version of the actin cytoskeleton that she can study in the lab. A key component is cytoplasm extracted from frog eggs.  

Gallop’s lab keeps around 120 female frogs that are induced to lay eggs in a way that matches their natural cycles. This requires a hormone injection - just a mild discomfort to the frogs - every three to four months to make them ovulate. Over time, Gallop has refined her methods so that only half the original number of frogs are now needed. 

This has enabled her to understand what might be going wrong in Lowe syndrome and Dent disease 2 – and realise that an existing drug might be able to help. Alpelisib has already been approved to safely treat breast cancer, and Gallop is now applying for approval to test whether it works to treat the kidney problems in patients with Dent disease 2. 

Repurposing an existing drug means the long drug-development process has already been done. Conversations with people affected by the diseases inspire Gallop’s team to keep going. And the frogs have played a vital role in this decade-long journey. 

https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/frog-eggs-and-rare-human-diseases 

 

University of Oxford 
‘Origami-inspired’ folding electrodes could reduce surgery needed to treat brain conditions 

A research team led by the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge have created new ‘origami-inspired’ brain electrodes that can fold up to a fraction of their full size. This advance could significantly reduce the amount of surgery needed to treat conditions such as epilepsy, or to install brain-computer interfaces. 

Measuring brain electrical activity is essential to accurately diagnose and treat conditions such as epilepsy. However, this often requires surgeons to cut out a large window in the skull (a craniotomy) to place electrodes directly onto the brain surface. This highly invasive procedure typically entails a prolonged recovery period, and poses severe infection risks. 

Pig models were used to test the innovative new folding brain electrode. The devices were tested in six pigs (two dead, four live) to test that they could pick up brain electric signals after being unfolded in the skull. 

https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2024-08-13-origami-inspired-folding-electrodes-could-reduce-surgery-needed-treat-brain 

 

The Francis Crick Institute 
Understanding the microbiome and cancer 

This year, scientists at the Crick, published new research showing that vitamin D encourages the growth of a type of gut bacteria in mice which improves immunity to cancer. 

They found that mice given a diet rich in vitamin D had better immune resistance to experimentally transplanted cancers and improved responses to cancer immunotherapy. This effect was also seen when gene editing was used to remove a protein that binds to vitamin D in the blood and keeps it away from tissues. 

Surprisingly, the team found that vitamin D acts on epithelial cells in the intestine, which in turn change the gut to favour outgrowth of a bacterium called Bacteroides fragilis. This microbe gave mice better immunity to cancer but the researchers are not yet sure how. 

To test if the bacterium could give better cancer immunity, mice on a normal diet were given Bacteroides fragilis. These mice were also better able to resist tumour growth but not when the mice were placed on a vitamin D-deficient diet. These findings highlight a connection between vitamin D, the microbiome and immunity to cancer that may also exist in humans and could only have been unpicked using animal models. 

https://www.crick.ac.uk/news-and-reports/2024-04-25_vitamin-d-alters-mouse-gut-bacteria-to-give-better-cancer-immunity 

 

UCL 
New immunotherapy could treat cancer in the bone 

A new type of immunotherapy, developed by UCL researchers, has shown promising preclinical results against a bone cancer called osteosarcoma, as part of a study in mice. 

Cancer that starts in or spreads to the bones is particularly hard to treat and is a leading cause of cancer-related death. It is also frequently resistant to chemotherapy, so new treatments are needed. 

The results of the experiment, published in Science Translational Medicine, found that using a small subset of immune cells, called gamma-delta T cells (gdT cells) could provide an efficient and cost-effective solution. 

gdT cells are a less well-known type of immune cell that can be made from healthy donor immune cells. They have strong innate anti-cancer properties, can kill antibody labelled targets and can safely be given from one person to another, without the risk of graft-versus-host disease. 

In order to manufacture the cells, blood is taken from a healthy donor. The gdT cells are then engineered to release tumour targeting antibodies and immune stimulating chemicals, before being injected into the patient with cancer in the bone. This new treatment delivery platform is called OPS-gdT. 

The research team, led by UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health scientists, tested the treatment on mouse models with bone cancer and found that OPS-gdT cells outperformed conventional immunotherapy when controlling osteosarcoma growth. 

In a series of experiments, researchers injected the mice with different combinations of gdT cells that hadn’t been engineered at all, an anti-tumour antibody, OPS-gdT cells alongside a bone sensitising drug, and CAR T-cells (another type of immunotherapy using genetically modified immune cells). 

They found that the OPS-gdT cells were most effective when partnered with the bone sensitising drug – which has previously been used on its own to strengthen weak bones in patients with cancer. This treatment prevented the tumours from growing in the mice that received it – leaving them healthy three months later. 

The researchers are hopeful that their treatment could not only work in treating osteosarcoma, but some other cancers as well, and they plan to move towards an early phase clinical trial in patients with secondary cancers within the next couple of years. 

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/may/new-immunotherapy-could-treat-cancer-bone 

 

University of Edinburgh 
Mouse models key to clinical trial of therapy to treat rare neurological condition 

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have used data from animal models to help initiate a clinical trial for a gene therapy intended to treat a rare neurological condition in young children. 

Professor Stuart Cobb and his team have used mouse models to better understand and investigate ways of treating Rett syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects brain development and can result in severe mental and physical impairments. There is currently no cure for the condition. 

Most cases of Rett syndrome are caused by a mutation to a gene – known as MECP2 – that encodes a protein needed for healthy brain development. 

Experiments in mice by the Edinburgh team have revealed that a functional version of MECP2 can be delivered and expressed at therapeutic levels using a gene therapy approach. 

Data showing the approach – which uses a viral vector to deliver the gene – is safe and effective in mice was key to gaining approval for a clinical trial of the therapy in young children. 

The clinical trial, which involves a biotech company, began in the US in the summer of 2023, and the trial has clearance in Australia and the UK. 

 

Medical Research Centre 
Mouse model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy offers new approach to developing treatments 

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a muscle wasting genetic disorder that mainly affects young boys. DMD is caused by the lack of a protein called dystrophin, so muscle fibres break down over time, causing muscles to weaken gradually. 

Although there is currently no cure for DMD, there are several promising avenues being explored by researchers. For example, a key component involved in DMD is a gene called utrophin, identified several decades ago by researchers at the MRC Functional Genetics Unit. Increasing the amount of utrophin in muscle cells could therefore compensate for the lack of dystrophin, and potentially uncover treatments for managing DMD. 

Researchers at MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences made a significant breakthrough by developing a mouse model to screen for compounds that enhance the expression of utrophin. Using the mouse model, the researchers identified two key cell signalling pathways that could be involved in utrophin production. Their findings suggest that inhibiting these pathways can increase utrophin production, and provided a proof of principle for this mouse model. 

A reliable method for screening for compounds that can control the level of utrophin in developing muscle cells could therefore be an exciting avenue for future research to identify treatments for DMD. 

https://lms.mrc.ac.uk/new-breakthrough-in-duchenne-muscular-dystrophy-research-new-compounds-discovered-that-increase-utrophin-expression-may-provide-a-new-therapeutic-strategy-for-dmd/ 

 

University of Manchester 
From a fish to a dish, how animal alternatives are advancing stroke research 

Haemorrhagic stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, but scientists still do not fully understand when or why it happens, or how to treat patients afterwards. Mammals can help us study brain haemorrhages, as they have brains and interacting circulatory systems that look quite similar to a human. But it is difficult to generate a reliable brain haemorrhage in a rodent without surgery, which is very technically demanding, time consuming and impossible to scale-up for drug screening. 

But new alternative models are being used at The University of Manchester including a larval stage zebrafish and a human cell system using a seaweed polymer to hold blood in culture. Both approaches offer alternatives to mammals, and will add to the toolkit scientists can use for pre-clinical study of brain haemorrhages. 

Up until 5 days old, larval zebrafish are not a protected species under UK legislation because they are not capable of independent feeding, and so are a replacement for protected species like mice and rats. Because they are so small scientists can study many individual animals at one time meaning we can get more reliable results. 

Exposing brain cells to blood is toxic. To keep them alive to study them, Manchester scientists have developed an approach that keeps the blood within a hydrogel to control the release of toxic factors. This allows for a viable cell system to investigate pathology and help answer questions such as which factors are causing damage to the brain tissue and could potentially be targets for drugs. 

https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/from-a-fish-to-a-dish-how-animal-alternatives-are-advancing-stroke-research/ 

 

King’s College London 
Researchers reverse hearing loss in mice 

Over half of adults in their 70s experience significant hearing loss. Impaired hearing is associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing depression and cognitive decline, as well as being a major predictor of dementia. While hearing aids and cochlear implants may be useful, they do not restore normal hearing function, and neither do they halt disease progression in the ear. There is a significant unmet need for medical approaches that slow down or reverse hearing loss.  

The new research carried out at King’s College London used a genetic approach to fix deafness in mice with a defective Spns2 gene, restoring their hearing abilities in low and middle frequency ranges. The deaf mice were provided with a special enzyme at different ages to activate the Spns2 gene, after which their hearing improved. This was found to be most effective when Spns2 was activated at a young age, with the positive effects of gene activation becoming less potent the longer the researchers waited to provide the intervention. Researchers say this proof-of-concept study suggests that hearing impairment resulting from reduced gene activity in humans may also be reversible. 

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/researchers-reverse-hearing-loss-in-mice 

 

University of Glasgow 
Fish are the most diverse vertebrates with more species than mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians combined. They are vital to extending our knowledge of the planet, include ecology and the effects of climate change. 

At the University of Glasgow researchers are studying fish to better understand the effects of climate change across different parts of the planet. Focusing on temperature and tropical fish and their homes, including coral reefs, researchers are assessing the impact of rising temperatures on fish physiology and behaviour. The team has studied metabolism changes in sticklebacks in response to temperature changes, as well as the impact of coral and anemone bleaching on the behaviour and physiology of tropical fish. In addition, the research group has studied fish to gain a better understanding of how individual and group behaviour changes in response to temperature changes. 

Their work, in collaboration with colleagues from around the world, including from French Polynesia and Brazil, has been instrumental in helping to better understand our changing planet and the impact climate change is having on its wildlife and biodiversity. 

https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/bohvm/research/sigs/marine/marinezoo/ 

 

Imperial College London 
Nobel-winning bodily ‘pressure sensors’ filmed for first time at Imperial 

The sensors – ion channels called Piezo1 and Piezo2 – are found throughout the body, from the heart, bladder and kidneys to the immune and nervous systems. Imperial College London researchers have now imaged them for the first time in human cells and zebrafish, potentially lighting the way for new drug targets in a range of diseases. Responsible for detecting and responding to changes in pressure, Piezo channels play a crucial role in regulating blood pressure, respiration, bladder control, and the immune system. The channels could therefore be important future drug targets for diseases including cancer.  

To image the channels, Imperial researchers led by Dr Periklis Pantazis developed a highly specific biosensor, called GenEPi, which lights up under a microscope when Piezo1 channels are activated. They tested GenEPi at both the cellular and whole-organism level, successfully highlighting Piezo1 activity in human kidney, foreskin, and cervical cancer cells, as well as beating mouse heart cells, and whole zebrafish embryos. Co-lead author Konstantinos Kalyviotis, PhD researcher at Imperial’s Department of Bioengineering, was recently honoured with the 2023 Christine Beattie Award from the International Zebrafish Society (IZFS) for his contributions to the development of GenEPi and his efforts in promoting zebrafish as a model for studying mechanosensation. This award acknowledges early-career zebrafish scientists who demonstrate excellence in zebrafish research and exhibit promise as future leaders in the field.  

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/247074/nobel-winning-bodily-pressure-sensors-filmed-first/ 

Last edited: 18 September 2024 10:09

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