Peoples' Immune Systems Can Now Be Duplicated In Mice

Peoples' Immune Systems Can Now Be Duplicated In Mice 89

Posted by samzenpus on Monday March 19, 2012 @01:07PM
from the rodent-proxy dept.

cylonlover writes "Because everyone's immune system is different, it's impossible to predict with absolute certainty how any given person will react to a specific medication. In the not-too-distant future, however, at-risk patients may get their own custom-altered mouse, with an immune system that's a copy of their own. Medications could be tried out on the mouse first, and if they are shown to have no adverse effects, the person could take the medication with a higher degree of confidence. If the person has an autoimmune disease, the mouse could also provide valuable insight into its treatment. A team led by Columbia University Medical Center's Dr. Megan Sykes has recently developed a method of creating just such a 'personalized immune mouse.'"