From bench to pet shop to bedside? The environment and immune function in mice

The generation of inbred mouse strains in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, coupled with the later establishment of specific pathogen-free animal research facilities created a powerful biological platform for exploration of the immune system in health and disease. Studies in this setting have been responsible for huge advances in our understanding of immunobiology and disease, including immune-mediated kidney disease. However, whereas this reductionist and relatively standardized approach allows us to make sense of complex disease biology, it takes place in controlled environments that clearly differ from those that we humans encounter in everyday life. Recent studies comparing the immune systems of wild mice, pet shop mice, and laboratory mice suggest ways in which the murine immune system can be influenced to behave more like the human immune system.