Stems to GEMs: impact of stem cell technology on engineered animal models

Collectively, these presentations introduced the audience to the roles of ES cells in generating phenotypes of transgenic animals,and they provided examples where the GEMs were used to define molecular mechanisms of disease or where ES cells were used as a therapeutic modality. Points of discussion among audience members reinforced the importance of strain-associated background lesions in animal models, technological advances in imaging functional biology, opportunities for stem cell therapies, and ubiquitination in regulation of cell proliferation. The 2012 American College of Veterinary Pathologists symposium ‘‘Evolutionary Aspects of Animal Models’’ will focus on the proper selection of a relevant animal model in biomedical research as critical to investigative success. Recent work characterizing rapid evolutionary changes and differences in physiology between species questions the validity of some comparative models. Dr. Robert Hamlin will be speaking on cardiovascular disease in ‘‘Animals as Models of Human Cardiovascular Disease: Or the Search to Overcome Outdated Evolutionary Homeostatic Mechanisms.’’ Dr. Stefan Niewiesk will discuss evolutionary factors that affect modeling the human immune system in ‘‘Of Mice and Men: Evolutionarily, What Are the Best Rodent Models of the Human Immune System for Infectious Disease Research?’’ Dr. Steven Austad will consider evolution in ‘‘Evolutionary Aspects of Animal Models of Aging.’’Finally, Dr. Elizabeth Uhl will conclude the session with ‘‘Modeling Disease Phenotypes: How an Evolutionary Perspective Enhances the Questions.’’