Breaking the species barrier: use of SCID mouse-human chimeras for the study of human infectious diseases.
Mouse-human chimeras have become a novel way to model the interactions between microbial pathogens and human cells, tissues or organs. Diseases studied with human xenografts in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice include Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in cystic fibrosis, group A streptococci and impetigo, bacillary and amoebic dysentery, and AIDS. In many cases, disease in the human xenograft appears to accurately reproduce the disease in humans, providing a powerful model for identifying virulence factors, host responses to infection and the effects of specific interventions on disease. In this review, we summarize recent studies that have used mouse-human chimeras to understand the pathophysiology of specific bacterial and protozoan infections.
Davis
Paul H
PH
Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8051, 660 S Euclid Avenue, St Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Stanley
Samuel L
SL
D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D011528:Protozoan Infections / Q000469:parasitology; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal / Q000469:parasitology; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous