Disease models
Mice with humanized immune systems could be used to screen immunotherapies for cancer. The model involved modifying NK cell-deficient mice by knocking in genes encoding human IL-15 and signal regulatory protein α (SIRPA; CD172a; SHPS-1) to induce development of humanized NK cells, intraepithelial lymphocytes and two subsets of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), all of which mediate the effects of cancer immunotherapies in patients. In a mouse xenograft model of Burkitt's lymphoma generated with the humanized mice, the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab induced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) mediated by NK cells and inhibited tumor growth, recapitulating the therapeutic responses observed in patients, whereas in a conventional mouse model of Burkitt's lymphoma, rituximab had no effect on tumor growth. Next steps could include using the humanized mice to generate models of other cancers and test immunotherapies...
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