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Peoples' Immune Systems Can Now Be Duplicated In Mice

Posted by samzenpus on from the rodent-proxy dept.

cylonlover writes "Because everyone's immune system is different, it's impossible to predict with absolute certainty how any given person will react to a specific medication. In the not-too-distant future, however, at-risk patients may get their own custom-altered mouse, with an immune system that's a copy of their own. Medications could be tried out on the mouse first, and if they are shown to have no adverse effects, the person could take the medication with a higher degree of confidence. If the person has an autoimmune disease, the mouse could also provide valuable insight into its treatment. A team led by Columbia University Medical Center's Dr. Megan Sykes has recently developed a method of creating just such a 'personalized immune mouse.'"

17 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. I think PETA just had a heart attack by Sydin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Unfortunately they turned down a personalized immune mouse, so nobody saw it coming.

    1. Re:I think PETA just had a heart attack by capedgirardeau · · Score: 2

      You are mistaken. The pathogenic contributions to atherosclerosis are not well understood, but there are clear indications they are at least related and quite possibly a contributing factor.

      For example this article, but you can find others as well:

      Bacteria Eyed for Possible Role in Atherosclerosis

      --
      Wax on, wax off baby!
  2. Wouldn't it make more sense... by Brooklynoid · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...to use a guinea pig for this?

    1. Re:Wouldn't it make more sense... by trongey · · Score: 3, Insightful

      yes, because human lives are worth so much less than animals.....

      Are they worth more?
      How is the value of a life determined?

      --
      You never really know how close to the edge you can go until you fall off.
    2. Re:Wouldn't it make more sense... by Eponymous+Hero · · Score: 5, Funny

      moot point. obviously all PETA members are willing to undergo these tests themselves in order to spare the animals.

      --
      insensitive clod overlords obligatory xkcd car analogy russian reversals whoosh pedant fanbois ftfy in 3...2...1..PROFIT
    3. Re:Wouldn't it make more sense... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Embryos don't have an immune system, per se ... that comes much later in development. Plus, even children's immune systems are not as developed as adult ones.

  3. Mice with human immune systems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Yep, nothing could possibly go wrong with this.

    And throughout history, no mouse has ever infected a human. So ... we're ... safe?

  4. Interesting. by JustAnotherIdiot · · Score: 2

    This is a very interesting concept, too bad every animal rights group will throw a fit.

    --
    What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
  5. I want to be that mouse! by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: 2

    Because they will jack me up with all kinds of cool drugs and I will live FOREVER...

    --
    Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
  6. Limits to feasibility: remember TeGenero case by waterbear · · Score: 4, Informative

    It remains to be shown how realistically close to human this mouse model can possibly be.

    One remembers that a few years ago http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp068082 (New England Journal of Medicine), a candidate antibody-type medicament from TeGenero produced severe toxicity in the first (and only) volunteers who received it, though previous animal trials had seemed to give a green light to take it forward to humans. Although the initial test animals there were not altered as in the way now proposed, clearly limits exist for the degree of alteration that can be achieved.

    -wb-

  7. Can I name mine? by EliSowash · · Score: 2

    I wanna call it Rupert.

  8. Old News, I say! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Funny

    For who among us has not heard the refrain "Eh, it seemed stable on the test box, push it to the Production instances."?

    1. Re:Old News, I say! by martas · · Score: 2

      Yes, that's why I always back myself up before I take experimental medication. I can't believe there are still people out there who don't make regular backups of themselves. I mean, hello, this is pretty basic stuff here, god!

      --
      weinersmith
  9. Hmmmm... by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 2

    Hmmmm... I have a few thoughts.

    1) It is well documented that women subconsciously detect in odor the signature of the immune system of men- and this is one of those "chemical" signals that women look for in men.

    2) Are women now suddenly going to be attracted to mice?

    3) Is this going to be a marketing ploy- carry a mouse of a based on a chick-magnet around and get women to sniff it so that they'll turn to you.

    4) If we start giving mice human DNA- are we not worried they'll start getting smarter and plan world domination?

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  10. Re:Umm .. We got a problem ? by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 2

    We have mice running with human immune system = more oppurtunities for micro organisms to adapt in all kinds of conditions.

    Yes- we could see more rodent disease making the leap to mankind.

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  11. Dune? by poptix · · Score: 2

    Does this remind anyone else about Hawat and the cat he has to milk daily to keep the Baron's poison from killing him?

    --
    Just because you disagree doesn't mean it's not true.
  12. Obligatory Douglas Adams reference by afeeney · · Score: 3

    Of course, the mice actually decided that this was the easiest way to get humans to serve as genetic test subjects for them.