Humanized immune system animal models and their recent applications.

Area of Science:

• * Immunology
• * Preclinical Research
• * Translational Medicine

Background:

• * Humanized immune system (HIS) animal models are vital for studying human biology and diseases in vivo.
• * These models are created by engrafting human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) into immunodeficient hosts, establishing a functional human immune system.
• * HIS models have diverse applications in cancer research, infectious diseases, regenerative medicine, and immunotherapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To provide a comprehensive overview of current HIS model generation techniques.
• * To evaluate the strengths and limitations of existing HIS models.
• * To discuss emerging innovations and the role of HIS models in preclinical drug development.

Main Methods:

• * Review of HSC-based approaches for HIS model generation.
• * Analysis of host strain selection criteria.
• * Examination of genetically engineered mouse models expressing human cytokines and HLA molecules.

Main Results:

• * HIS models facilitate the study of immune responses, disease mechanisms, and therapeutic interventions in a relevant physiological setting.
• * Identified limitations include incomplete immune reconstitution and species-specific incompatibilities.
• * HIS models are increasingly utilized in preclinical drug development.

Conclusions:

• * HIS models offer significant opportunities for advancing basic research and clinical translation.
• * Ongoing innovations like multitissue humanization and genome editing are enhancing HIS model capabilities.
• * Continued evolution of HIS models promises to accelerate biomedical discoveries.