Towards a Mouse Model of Complement-Mediated Diseases

描述（由申请人提供）：广泛的临床和实验证据强烈表明，补体系统在多种人类疾病的发病机制中起关键作用，包括一些溶血性贫血和男性不育症。鉴于这些疾病的复杂性和慢性性质，其中补体的致病作用仍然需要确定，我们建议在此应用中使用的分子工程小鼠模型提供了强大的工具来进行不可能在人类中进行的实验。通过三种不同的激活途径和膜攻击复合物（MAC）的形成，补体系统介导获得性和先天反应来防御细菌感染，并处理免疫复合物或凋亡细胞。活化的补体和MAC也可以损伤自身细胞，从而介导导致慢性疾病的病理反应。包括CD59 （MAC形成的关键抑制剂）在内的一系列补体调节蛋白已经进化到保护自身细胞免受补体损伤，这可能是由于补体激活与MAC形成的增加或调节的减少造成的。由于在小鼠基因组中意外存在两个Cd59基因（称为mCd59a和mCd59b），开发足够的动物模型来研究MAC及其在人类疾病发病机制中的相对作用一直受到阻碍。对mCd59a和mCd59b敲除小鼠的初步研究表明，我们通过靶向缺失这两个基因成功产生的mCd59ab双敲除小鼠（mCdSgab-/-），是研究MAC调控在人类疾病发病机制中的作用所必需的。我们的假设是，缺乏CD59功能将导致mac介导的组织损伤和不同器官的局灶性病理。基于在mCdSgb-/-‘和mCdSgab-/-小鼠中观察到的表型特征，我们将重点研究mCdSgab’-/-小鼠的两个表型特征，这些表型特征代表了补体长期以来被怀疑在其中起作用的人类疾病：1)补体介导的溶血性贫血伴血小板活化；2)男性不育。利用现有的C3或C4缺陷小鼠，我们将从CD59的补体独立功能中区分补体及其激活途径的具体作用。我们将利用仅在红细胞中表达hCD59的转基因小鼠与mCdSgab-/-杂交，验证溶血性贫血与mCd59ab-/-中CD59缺失之间的因果关系。我们的目标的成功实现将明确MAC及其调控在三种典型人类疾病中的作用，并将为研究界继续研究补体在人类病理中的作用提供一个急需的模型。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Extensive clinical and experimental evidence strongly indicates that the complement system plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of a diverse group of human diseases that includes some of the hemolytic anemias and male infertility. Given the complex and chronic nature of these diseases in which a pathogenic role of complement still needs to be defined, molecular engineered mouse models that we propose to use in this application provide powerful tools to conduct experiments that would be impossible to perform in humans. Through three different activation pathways and formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC), the complement system mediates both acquired and innate responses to defend against bacterial infection, and to dispose of immune complexes or apoptotic cells. Activated complement and MAC can also damage self cells and thereby mediate pathological responses leading to chronic diseases. An array of complement regulatory proteins including CD59, a key inhibitor of MAC formation, have evolved to protect self cells from complement damage, which can result from either increased complement activation with MAC formation or decreased regulation. Development of adequate animal models to study the relative role of the MAC and its regulation in the pathogenesis of human diseases has been hampered because of the unexpected presence of two Cd59 genes (termed mCd59a and mCd59b) in the mouse genome. Preliminary studies on mCd59a and mCd59b knockout mice demonstrated that the mCd59ab double knockout mouse (mCdSgab-/-), which we have successfully generated by targeted deletion of both genes, was required to investigate the role of MAC regulation in the pathogenesis of human diseases. Our hypothesis is that absence of CD59 function will result in MAC-mediated tissue damage and focal pathology in different organs. Based on the phenotypic features observed in mCdSgb-/-' and mCdSgab-/- mice, we will study mCdSgab'-/- mice focusing on two phenotypic traits representative of human diseases in which a role of complement has long been suspected: 1) complement-mediated hemolytic anemia with platelet activation; and 2) male infertility. Using available C3 or C4 deficient mice, we will differentiate specific roles of complement and its activation pathways from complement-independent functions of CD59. Using transgenic mice that express hCD59 only in RBC and crossing them with mCdSgab-/-, we will verify the causal relationships between the hemolytic anemia and the loss of CD59 in mCd59ab-/-. Successful accomplishment of our goals will define the role of MAC and its regulation in three paradigmatic human diseases, and will provide the research community with a much-needed model to continue studying the role of complement in human pathology.