http://www.msra.org.au/mini-me-mice-mak ... y-model-ms
FYI: the page itself has no extra info apart from researchers and institute.Summary
Associate Professor Greer is aiming to make a mouse with the capacity to be a much better model of the human disease than the models that are currently available. Associate Professor Judith Greer will use mice that have no immune system of their own, but which carry several human genes that will allow the immune systems of the mice to be reconstituted using immune cells from people with MS.
Most drugs developed for MS are initially tested in the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) animal model of MS, which, while it mimics several aspects of the human disease, also has some significant differences. Many experimental treatments that appear to work in the currently available EAE models have either no effect in humans, or completely opposite effects.
This is likely due to underlying genetic differences in humans that are not present in the mice. Additionally, the carefully controlled laboratory conditions for a mouse (often specifically pathogen-free) differ greatly to the complex array of environmental exposures of an adult human with autoimmune disease. This can mean that the activity of immune-related genes in mice and humans are also likely to differ significantly.
Therefore, Associate Professor Greer will use mice that have rebuilt their immune system with cells from people with MS. While others have created mouse models using this technique, these models specifically lack human CD4+ T cell responses, which is crucial for the development of MS.
The creation of a model with a robust CD4+ T cell response would be very useful for studying basic questions related to the development of MS and also for testing new therapeutic agents for MS.
Updated 10/7/2015
