New “Humanized” Mouse Model Supports Human Immune System Development and the Study of Human-Specific Innate Immunity in the Brehm & Greiner Labs
Date Posted: Thursday, January 12, 2023
Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) molecules help the immune system recognize infections and other harmful threats. Targeting the TLR4 pathway has therapeutic potential in development of new vaccines and cancer immunotherapies by enhancing immune responses. This study conducted in the Brehm and Greiner labs and published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology describes the creation of a novel “humanized” mouse model that enables specific targeting of the human TLR4 pathway in mice. With this model the investigators were able to test TLR4 therapies in a human specific manner and show treatment efficacy against a human tumor.
“We were able to overcome what had been a major limitation in using humanized mice to study immune therapies,” said Michael Brehm, Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine at the UMass Chan Diabetes Center of Excellence and Co-Director of the Humanized Mouse Core Facility. “This new model provides an in-vivo platform to test new strategies using TLR4 for human immunotherapy.”
