Novel Mouse Strain for Inflammation and Neurodegeneration

This invention is a transgenic mouse model for the study of multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. This new model crosses an HLA transgenic strain with a humanized apolipoprotein E (APOE) mouse model to create a useful tool for studying a wide array of neurodegenerative diseases, specifically the role of T-cell mediated inflammation. This new model enables the study of APOE genes, which are implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease, and antigenic T cell epitopes that are thought to contribute to T-cell inflammation in diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis (MS). As APOE is a risk factor for several neurodegenerative diseases, their interaction in a singular model may provide insight into the translatability of findings for each of the models.

Background:  
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, almost 1 million people in the United States have received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, according to a 2019 prevalence study funded by the National MS Society. MS organizations estimate that 2.3 million people in the world have MS. Traditional mouse models have remained limited in their ability to accurately study neurodegeneration etiology, with T-cell mediated inflammation playing a crucial role that has not been able to be studied. 

Applications:

• Neurodegenerative disease research 
• Inflammation disease research

Advantages: 

• Useful for specific diseases like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Can be useful for more advanced neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s
• Increases translatability of findings through implementation of a single model
• Allows insights into translatability from a single mouse model