Mouse gets human-type immune system
Japanese researchers say they've transplanted a human-type immune system into a mouse.
The scientists from Kyushu University's School of Medicine told the Asahi Shimbun the transplantation will enable researchers to experiment on mice and achieve results more applicable to humans in such areas as developing safer drugs and learning the mechanics of disease.
Mice have various types of immune cells, but because some of those cells are different from human cells, scientists have been unable to obtain experimental results that apply directly to humans. That problem is believed to be a reason why some new drugs, including anti-cancer medicine, can have adverse effects on humans.
Testing the drugs on mice with a human immune system could help to resolve that problem, the Asahi Shimbun reported.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International