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Lab mice with ‘wild’ microbiomes better reflect clinical data

NIH’s ‘wildling’ mice could be a better animal model for testing drug candidates

August 8, 2019 10:31 PM UTC

A lab mouse line carrying a wild mouse microbiome recapitulated unexpected clinical results, showing that the rodents, from NIH, could serve as a better model for preclinical testing than conventional lab mice.

Multiple studies have shown conventional mice, which are raised under pathogen-free conditions, lack the diverse microbiome found in wild mice, and have linked the lab mice’s microbiome with misleading results that don’t reflect the real world. Data have shown that the immune systems of lab mice resemble neonatal more than adult ones and are less able to effectively respond to immune challenge as adult humans do (see “Better Dirty”)...

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