HIV-Susceptible Mice — In a May 2013 issue of PLoS ONE, Dr. Harris Goldstein and graduate student Kieran Seay report their development of a genetically engineered mouse that can be used to study HIV. Since a critical step in testing new drugs is to demonstrate effectiveness in mice; the researchers first had to overcome a critical obstacle: Mice cannot be infected by the virus. HIV infects by binding to and entering molecules via the proteins CD4 and CCR5, which are present on the cell surface of human immune cells. The virus then utilizes an internal protein, cyclin T1, to make copies of itself. The researchers were able to genetically engineer a mouse with the human copy of these critical genes, rendering the new mouse model susceptible to HIV infection. This “humanized” mouse model therefore provides a new way to conduct essential preclinical testing of HIV therapies to accelerate discovery of novel treatments. Dr. Goldstein is professor of pediatrics and of microbiology & immunology. He also is the Charles Michael Chair in Autoimmune Diseases and director of Einstein’s Center for AIDS Research.
Posted on: Tuesday, June 04, 2013