The SCID-hu mouse: an in-vivo model for HIV-1 pathogenesis and stem cell gene therapy for AIDS

Animal models are critical to the investigation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) pathogenesis. However, normal animal models are either uninfectable with HIV-1, or if infected, do not display HIV-1 induced pathology. Here, we describe how the severe combined immunodeficient mouse (SCID), implanted with human fetal thymus and liver, has been used to model HIV-1 pathogenesis and anti-retroviral gene therapy. Unable to reject the human tissue, these chimeric mice provide the investigator with a human hematolymphoid organ which, following infection by HIV-1, may more closely mimic the situation seen in humans than standard in-vitro culture systems.