Imagine studying human cells without using humans. Well you don't have to imagine any further. According to an article in Scientific American, the scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have solved the practical and ethical question of performing studies on human cells when they engineered laboratory mice with a high amount of human liver cells.
The problem that hindered the research before was figuring out how to insert human cells without the mouse's immune system attacking them. The solution came about when immunodeficient mice were bred with a genetic defect that produced a toxin that degraded their own liver. They were given drugs that slowed down the degradation and when they lowered the dosage they had enough room for human liver cells to be grafted on. When they subjected these genetically engineered mice to the Hepatitis B and C virus and the drugs to treat them they reacted similarly to how humans would.
Research on "humanized" mice with immune system through human stem cells and the blood are currently on the way. As the leader of the Rockefeller University research group on mouse models for hepatitis C Charlie Rice have implied that one day an individual can have all of his cells grown in a mouse model for preclinical drug developments.
I think this is a very exciting development in molecular genetics and medicine. Having your very own model organism in the future is very significant in drug interactions and gene therapies.
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I think it really remarkable that these scientists have engineered mice to be able to accept human liver cells inside their bodies. It is difficult for a human’s body to not reject another liver after a transplant. Transplants are risky within our own species so to be able to grow human liver cells in mice is a huge step in the direction of understanding cell’s mechanisms. These mutated mice will be good tests for future drugs and they help to eliminate the dangerous testing on humans. Liver cells seem to just be the start because other genetically defected mice may be able to accept other types of human cells. The article also states “Successfully melding these models could transform the future of HBV, HCV, malaria and other diseases, including HIV/HCV co-infection, a widespread problem with no viable treatment options.” This is definitely a great discovery for pharmaceutical companies.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this article is quite interesting and is truly a leap in scientific technology, I just can't help but picture a mouse that is the size a human because they grew multiple human parts inside of it.
ReplyDeleteThe article makes me wonder how our ethics will change in the future. We have laws against testing on humans (without their consent), but if we are growing, let's say, a human brain inside of a mouse, do we consider the mouse to be still of its species? Its such a grey area, that its not easy to imagine what we will think if this technology comes to fruition.
This was also an interesting quote that gives you an idea of a future we might encounter:
"The ability to create a mouse with cells from a single person means that eventually patients could have their very own personalized animal models for studying the potential impact of a drug."
Instead of doctors visits, we would make lab visits to see how our mini-me's are doing with the test-drug we gave them for our disease. This would be just a huge leap in science if this comes to pass. It's incredible.