The present invention is related to short-term renal injury models and methods for creating these models. The models and methods can be used for identifying, testing or characterizing candidate molecules with respect to their suitability to treat renal injury. The methods comprise a step of inducing, in a test subject, renal injury by administering subcutaneously a bolus of a renal injury inducer, in a dosage sufficiently high to induce renal injury. Different types of readout for renal injury are provided such as albumin creatinine ratio (ACR) determined in a urine sample taken from the subject, or the development of transcutaneous fluorescence after injection of a fluorescent molecule. Based on the readout the degree of renal injury and/or alteration of GFR can be determined.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pharmaceutical composition or food or drink composition comprising an active ingredient that suppresses functional expression of Oscar protein. Another object of the present invention is to provide a pharmaceutical composition or food composition for preventing or treating kidney disease A further object of the present invention is to provide a pharmaceutical composition or food or drink composition that suppresses functional expression of Oscar in a living organism in order to suppress functional expression of FGF23. A still further object of the present invention is to provide a method for evaluating an effect, in the body, of an active ingredient that suppresses functional expression of Oscar protein. The above objects are achieved by at least one member selected from the group consisting of antagonists of the Oscar protein; genome editing systems that target Oscar gene; at least one RNA molecule selected from the group consisting of siRNA, shRNA, and miRNA that target Oscar mRNA, or vectors capable of expressing the RNA molecule; and antibodies that specifically bind to the Oscar protein and suppress function of the Oscar.

Methods of producing non-human animal models of corneal ectatic diseases, such as corneal keratoconus, by applying an aromatic compound to the eye of a non-human animal are described. Also described are non-human animal models of corneal ectatic diseases, and methods of using the non-human animal models to screen compounds that modulate corneal ectatic diseases.

Provided is a method for identifying a substance capable of affecting aging, the method comprising: determining the effect of a candidate substance on the activity and/or expression of Zip11; and identifying the candidate substance that changes the activity and/or expression of Zip11 as a substance capable of affecting aging. Further provided is the use of a substance capable of increasing the activity and/or expression quantity of Zip11 for preparing a medicine, wherein the medicine is used for delaying or ameliorating aging.

The invention provides engineered mitochondria and a preparation method thereof, and relates to the technical field of mitochondria. The engineered mitochondria are formed by attaching exogenous cell membranes to outer membranes of exogenous mitochondria. The preparation method comprises the following steps: S1: extracting exogenous cell membranes from cells; S2: separating and extracting exogenous mitochondria from cells or tissue; and S3: mixing the separated and extracted exogenous mitochondria with the exogenous cell membranes in a specific ratio, thereby attaching the exogenous cell membranes to the outer membranes of the exogenous mitochondria to obtain the engineered mitochondria. The invention enables the production of engineered mitochondria with enhanced biological activity, exhibiting improved therapeutic effects on mitochondrial dysfunction-related disorders.

The present invention provides a prophylactic or therapeutic agent for a kidney disease, comprising Apoptosis Inhibitor of Macrophage (AIM) or a partial peptide thereof, or a nucleic acid comprising a base sequence encoding the same, or a screening method for a prophylactic or therapeutic agent for a kidney disease, comprising using an animal obtained by subjecting a non-human mammal deficient in AIM expression to unilateral ureteral obstruction or transient kidney ischemia/reperfusion and the like.

Methods of producing non-human animal models of corneal ectatic diseases, such as corneal keratoconus, by applying an aromatic compound to the eye of a non-human animal are described. Also described are non-human animal models of corneal ectatic diseases, and methods of using the non-human animal models to screen compounds that modulate corneal ectatic diseases.

Targeted Factor VIII molecules comprising a Factor VIII linked with at least one domain that specifically binds to a membrane protein on a red blood cell is provided. The disclosed targeted coagulation factors prolong their duration of action and thus, are an improvement for the treatment of hematological diseases such as hemophilia A.

Described herein is a genetically modified plant or non-human animal having reduced expression of an endogenous target gene.

The present invention provides a mouse with liver damage, having a high degree of damage against the mouse's original hepatocytes while having a uPA gene in a heterozygous form, and a method for efficiently preparing the mouse. Specifically, the method for preparing a mouse with liver damage having the uPA gene in a heterozygous form comprises the following steps of: (i) transforming mouse ES cells with a DNA fragment containing a liver-specific promoter/enhancer and cDNA that encodes a urokinase-type plasminogen activator operably linked under the control thereof; (ii) injecting the transformed mouse ES cells obtained in step (i) into a host embryo; (iii) transplanting the host embryo obtained in step (ii) via the injection of the ES cells into the uterus of a surrogate mother mouse, so as to obtain a chimeric mouse; and (iv) crossing the chimeric mice obtained in step (iii), so as to obtain a transgenic mouse in which the DNA fragment is introduced in a heterozygous form.