Webinar: Selection of Humanized Mouse Models for Biomedical Research

The Jackson Laboratory offers more than 7,000 genetically defined strains of JAX^® mice to the international research community for use in a broad range of disease areas. However, the in vivo study of human immunity in mice is severely limited by both ethical and technical constraints. Therefore, there is a recognized need for novel approaches to study human immune responses to pathogens, vaccines, and allogeneic tissue in vivo that is not met by currently available animal models.

In this webinar, Michael Brehm, Ph.D., of the Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, will discuss the development of immunodeficient scid and Rag1null mice bearing mutations in the IL2 receptor gamma chain (IL2rγnull) (NSG and NRG) that enable survival of implanted human cells and tissues that now enable advanced study and manipulation of human immunity in the mouse. Dr. Brehm will provide a general overview of humanized mouse models, describe currently available strains and protocols to generate a human immune system in the mouse, discuss limitations of the current models, and outline considerations for researchers in choosing the most appropriate one for their studies.

Jackson Laboratory’s Charles Miller will describe the Laboratory’s development of pre-engrafted and validated humanized NSG™ mice that can greatly speed access to these models and facilitate research in infectious disease, diabetes, cancer, gene therapy and more.

In this webinar you will learn:

• How selection of humanized mouse models for biomedical research impacts potential experimental outcomes
• How severely immunodeficient NSG™ and NRG mice support engraftment of functional human immune systems that can be experimentally manipulated and studied in vivo
• The strengths and weaknesses of current humanized mouse models and how they can be utilized to ask focused questions about human disease
• How these models are being used to study innate and adaptive immune responses
• How engraftment of human immune populations into immunodeficient mice—including injection of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), injection of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), and the implantation of autologous human thymic tissues simultaneously with injection of autologous HSCs—are accomplished
• How The Jackson Laboratory has enhanced the techniques for creation of and has accelerated access to humanized mice for infectious disease, cancer, and drug testing research