User login
Researchers believe they may have discovered why medical interventions that succeed in mice don’t always translate to the clinic.
The team said the fact that lab mice are raised in pathogen-free environments may contribute to the differences in immune system development between lab mice and humans.
But co-housing lab mice with mice from pet stores can produce “dirty” mouse models that may better reflect the immune systems of adult humans.
David Masopust, PhD, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and his colleagues described these findings in a letter to Nature.
The researchers first explored immunological differences between lab mice and humans by analyzing cervical tissue specimens from adults of each species.
The team found that lab mice had fewer, less diverse, and less widely distributed memory T cells when compared with humans.
The immune systems of lab mice more closely resembled those of human infants, particularly with regard to the number and tissue distribution of memory T cells.
The researchers performed a similar analysis on tissues from lab mice and from mice found in barn or pet store environments.
The non-lab mice had immune systems more like those of adult humans, which suggests the variation in microbial environment—and not the species difference—could account for the immune system differences.
The researchers then set out to determine if the immune systems of lab mice with little exposure to environmental microbes could change when exposed to a different environment.
They co-housed lab mice with healthy mice raised in a pet store. After 8 weeks, analyses of the lab mice revealed patterns of T cells and other immune system components that more closely matched the pet store mice as well as adult humans.
The researchers said these findings suggest that “dirty” mice may model the human immune system more closely than typical lab mice and could be studied to learn more about the role of environment and genetics in the development of the human immune system. 
Researchers believe they may have discovered why medical interventions that succeed in mice don’t always translate to the clinic.
The team said the fact that lab mice are raised in pathogen-free environments may contribute to the differences in immune system development between lab mice and humans.
But co-housing lab mice with mice from pet stores can produce “dirty” mouse models that may better reflect the immune systems of adult humans.
David Masopust, PhD, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and his colleagues described these findings in a letter to Nature.
The researchers first explored immunological differences between lab mice and humans by analyzing cervical tissue specimens from adults of each species.
The team found that lab mice had fewer, less diverse, and less widely distributed memory T cells when compared with humans.
The immune systems of lab mice more closely resembled those of human infants, particularly with regard to the number and tissue distribution of memory T cells.
The researchers performed a similar analysis on tissues from lab mice and from mice found in barn or pet store environments.
The non-lab mice had immune systems more like those of adult humans, which suggests the variation in microbial environment—and not the species difference—could account for the immune system differences.
The researchers then set out to determine if the immune systems of lab mice with little exposure to environmental microbes could change when exposed to a different environment.
They co-housed lab mice with healthy mice raised in a pet store. After 8 weeks, analyses of the lab mice revealed patterns of T cells and other immune system components that more closely matched the pet store mice as well as adult humans.
The researchers said these findings suggest that “dirty” mice may model the human immune system more closely than typical lab mice and could be studied to learn more about the role of environment and genetics in the development of the human immune system.
Researchers believe they may have discovered why medical interventions that succeed in mice don’t always translate to the clinic.
The team said the fact that lab mice are raised in pathogen-free environments may contribute to the differences in immune system development between lab mice and humans.
But co-housing lab mice with mice from pet stores can produce “dirty” mouse models that may better reflect the immune systems of adult humans.
David Masopust, PhD, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and his colleagues described these findings in a letter to Nature.
The researchers first explored immunological differences between lab mice and humans by analyzing cervical tissue specimens from adults of each species.
The team found that lab mice had fewer, less diverse, and less widely distributed memory T cells when compared with humans.
The immune systems of lab mice more closely resembled those of human infants, particularly with regard to the number and tissue distribution of memory T cells.
The researchers performed a similar analysis on tissues from lab mice and from mice found in barn or pet store environments.
The non-lab mice had immune systems more like those of adult humans, which suggests the variation in microbial environment—and not the species difference—could account for the immune system differences.
The researchers then set out to determine if the immune systems of lab mice with little exposure to environmental microbes could change when exposed to a different environment.
They co-housed lab mice with healthy mice raised in a pet store. After 8 weeks, analyses of the lab mice revealed patterns of T cells and other immune system components that more closely matched the pet store mice as well as adult humans.
The researchers said these findings suggest that “dirty” mice may model the human immune system more closely than typical lab mice and could be studied to learn more about the role of environment and genetics in the development of the human immune system.