EMBL Course: Humanized Mice in Biomedicine: Challenges and Innovations

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 tumours. 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 modelling using patient-derived xenografts (PDX) of solid tumours and leukaemia models as well as regenerative approaches for the liver.

Topics: human immune system, human pathologies, infections, cancer, stem cell transplantation, tumours, leukaemia