A Chinese team of scientists has established a pig model of Huntington's disease (HD), an inherited neurodegenerative disease, using genetic engineering technology. In a study published in "Cell" on Thursday, researchers anticipated that the pigs could be a practical way to test treatments for HD, which is caused by a gene encoding a toxic protein that causes brain cells to die.

In this photo handed out by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, members of a research team on the world's first pig model for Huntington's disease pose for a group photo at Jinan University in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, March 28, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua)

In this photo handed out by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, researchers hold Huntington's disease pig models at a laboratory in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, March 28, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua)

In this photo handed out by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a pig model for Huntington's disease is pictured at a laboratory in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, March 28, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua)

In this photo handed out by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a researcher on the pig models for Huntington's disease takes a DNA sample at Jinan University in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, March 28, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua)

In this photo handed out by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a researcher holds a Huntington's disease pig model at a laboratory in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, March 28, 2018. (Photo: Xinhua)