Genetic Research at Texas A&M Set to Blast Off

By Kay Kendall

The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest, most complex systems of higher education in the nation, conducting more than $500 million in research annually. Traditionally strong in engineering and agriculture, A&M’s research in life sciences and biotechnology has lately grown in size and prominence.

Now life sciences within the A&M system are taking a big, bold leap forward with the creation of TIGM, the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine. TIGM is a new, nonprofit joint effort among Texas A&M University in College Station, the A&M Health Science Center’s Institute of Biosciences and Technology (IBT) in Houston, and Lexicon Genetics of The Woodlands, Texas. Propelled by a $50 million award given in 2005 from the state of Texas courtesy of the Texas Enterprise Fund, the joint venture establishes a comprehensive knockout mouse embryonic stem cell library containing 350,000 cell lines.

When complete, the new library is expected to be the world’s largest collection of mouse embryonic stem cells engineered to study gene function, allowing researchers to identify which genes offer the most promise for future drug development. TIGM researchers may also access specific cells from Lexicon’s current gene trap library of 270,000 mouse embryonic stem cell lines and will have rights to use Lexicon’s patented gene targeting technologies. Also, Lexicon will equip the institute with the bioinformatics software required to manage and analyze data relating to the library.

“This is a historic move for A&M, making a life sciences venture on this scale,” notes Richard H. Finnell, Ph.D., executive director and president, TIGM and Margaret M. Alkek Professor of Medical Genetics and Regents Professor, IBT. “TIGM will pioneer the development of life-changing medical breakthroughs, accelerate the pace of medical discoveries and foster the development of the biotechnology industry in Texas.”

“The only nonprofit entity fully equipped to knock out and study all genes is the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine,” says Arthur T. Sands, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Lexicon. “As a founding member of the institute, Lexicon is pleased to contribute to developing the biotechnology research and commercial community in Texas, which in turn will be of great benefit to all Texans.”

Scientists use knockout mice — mice whose DNA has been altered to disrupt, or “knock out,” the function of the altered gene — to discover the physiological and behavioral effects that result from loss of functioning protein encoded by the disrupted gene. Historically, the study of such loss of function through genetic alterations in mice has been a powerful tool for understanding human genes because of the similarity of gene function and physiology between mice and humans. With the genomic sequence of both organisms now available, scientists now know that 99% of all human genes have a counterpart in the mouse genome.

Lexicon’s patented gene trapping technology lets TIGM scientists generate these knockout mice by altering the DNA of genes in a special variety of mouse cells, called embryonic stem cells, which can be cloned and used to generate mice that carry the altered gene. In drug development, a gene is disabled to model a certain human disease in mice. Then the effectiveness of different drug candidates can be tested on those mice.

Alternatively, a candidate drug target can be evaluated by knockout, simulating the effect of a drug before the drug itself has been discovered. With the escalating costs involved in drug discovery, having a well-validated drug target is the critical rate-limiting step that has so far kept the number of newly approved drugs unfortunately low. TIGM hopes to remedy this situation and speed the development of new pharmaceutical products to get help to people faster.

The institute will make embryonic stem cells from its library available to researchers worldwide. TIGM’s facilities will be located in Houston at the A&M Health Science Center’s Institute of Biosciences and Technology and in College Station at Texas A&M University. Groundbreaking for a new facility there was held in June 2006.

“With the support of the Texas Enterprise Fund,” concludes Richard E. Ewing, Ph.D., Vice President for Research at Texas A&M University, “the Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine will positively impact the growth and development of Texas as a center of biotechnology innovation. It will offer the opportunity for job creation and the incubation of new biotechnology companies throughout the state. We will see well-known researchers, venture capital and grant funding all attracted to Texas as a result of this visionary entity that we fondly call TIGM, which does after all rhyme with A&M’s favorite saying — Gig ‘em.”