Mouse model in hepatitis C

2011/09/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Bioteknologia

Rockefeller University researchers have managed to build a mouse model of hepatitis C. According to immunologists, the presence of this mouse model will be a milestone in research against the disease, since for many years they have been looking for a suitable model and so far they have not achieved it.

Hepatitis C virus only infects chimpanzees and people through specialized cells that have livers of these species. This specialization has been a major obstacle for researchers, since the other animals used in the laboratory are resistant to the virus.

In efforts to achieve a mouse model, researchers have tried to grow mice with human livers through genetic engineering. However, this path has not been successful due to technological difficulties.

On this occasion researchers have tried another way: transforming mouse cells to be able to take the virus. To do this, people have introduced to the mouse two human genes that encode factors that make us feel for the virus. Thanks to this, mice also catch the disease.

The work has been published in the scientific journal Nature.