Human and Mouse Artificial Lymph Nodes: Novel technology to Reduce and Replace the use of animal models in clinical and developmental immunology

自身免疫性和炎症性疾病的治疗对NHS和社会产生了重大影响，据估计，英国每年要花费超过200亿英镑。需要新的治疗方法来治疗这些令人衰弱的疾病。目前，新疗法的开发包括使用这种疾病的啮齿动物模型，并在启动人类临床试验之前在非人类灵长类动物身上进行测试。这一过程使用了大量的动物，成本高昂，而且不一定能提供关于治疗方法如何在人类身上发挥作用的信息。在这项与制药制造和测试组织ProBioGen Ag合作的提案中，我们将开发和利用一项名为人造人类淋巴结的新技术，以在试管中复制人类免疫系统。该系统将允许在药物开发过程中替换动物，并减少对免疫系统如何发展和功能进行基础研究所需的动物数量。

The treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory disease has a major impact on the NHS and society and is estimated to cost the UK over 20 billion pounds per year. New treatments are required to treat these debilitating disorders. Currently, the development of novel therapeutics involves using rodent models of the disease and testing in non-human primates before initiating clinical trials in humans. This process utilises large numbers of animals, is expensive and is not necessarily very informative in how a treatment might work in humans. In this proposal in collaborate with a pharmaceutical manufactoring and testing organisation, ProBioGen Ag, we will develop and utilise a new technology we have termed an artificial human lymph nodes to replicate the human immune system in a test tube. This system will allow replacement of animals in the drug development process and reduction in animal numbers required to do basic research into how the immune system develops and functions.