Course Overview
In the last decade, several new genetically modified immune deficient mouse strains have been developed. They allowed high levels of engraftment of the human immune system, tissues and tumors. These models have become highly relevant for basic research to understand the function of the human immune system and the development of human pathologies (infections and cancer) in vivo. They are also being increasingly used as potency and safety models to evaluate new therapies and approaches in regenerative medicine prior to testing in humans.
This course will cover all aspects of the topic, including conceptual and technical classes on human stem cell transplantation and immune reconstitution, infections with human-specific pathogens (EBV, HIV, HCV, HBV, Ebola, Adenovirus), in vivo modeling using patient-derived xenografts (PDX) of solid tumors and leukemia models as well as regenerative approaches for the liver.
The Jackson Laboratory will provide additional support for the course, which will take place at the EMBL Advanced Training Centre in Heidelberg, which provides state-of-the-art laboratory space in an exciting academic environment. Besides presenting lectures, the speakers will be involved in wet-lab activities with the PhD students and Post-docs using humanized mice: isolation of cells and tissues, analysis of cell panels by flow cytometry, as well as histological and molecular analyses. Finally, we will discuss the value and impact of these models on the biology and therapy of human diseases.
Audience
Junior faculty, post-docs and pre-docs in the field, who will be selected based on their letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, level of pre-education and training in the fields of immunology, infectious diseases, oncology, pharm-tox. The goal is to promote their intellectual and practical training in the development and analyses of predictive humanized mouse models.
Modules/Resources
- Mouse strains optimised for humanisation
- Engraftment of human hematopoietic stem cells, human tissues and human malignancies
- Human innate and adaptive immune reconstitution in vivo
- Modeling infections with human pathogens in vivo
- Modeling human malignancies in vivo
- Proof-of-concepts for regenerative medicine
- Regulatory aspects of non-clinical and pharm-tox studies in humanized mice
Learning Outcomes
- Material and technical requirements for setting up humanized mouse models
- Dynamics of human immune reconstitution in humanized mice and functional assays
- Outcome of human infections in humanized mice and testing therapies
- Outcome of human maligancies in humanized mice and testing therapies
- Requirements for reproducibility of data for predictive dynamic models
This course is co-organised with the Jackson Laboratory
