Understanding the development of critical components of the immune system can contribute to medical advances in stimulating desirable immune responses and halting undesirable immune reactions, Kappes said. This understanding can further progress against various immune disorders, allergies and certain cancers, such as those of the blood and bone marrow, that involve a compromised immune system.
"As one example, a decrease in the number of CD4 T cells is the primary mechanism by which HIV causes AIDS," Kappes said.
The helper-deficient mice his team discovered represent the second time that a naturally occurring mutant strain has been found and bred at Fox Chase. In 1981, the laboratory group of Melvin Bosma, Ph.D., discovered mice with severe combined immune deficiency (SCID), a condition that also affects humans. In addition to providing a unique animal model to study the SCID syndrome, SCID mice have become a highly valuable tool for studying the immune system and are now used by scientists worldwide.
Kappes' co-authors on the new Nature paper include Fox Chase postdoctoral associates Xiao He, Ph.D., Xi He, Ph.D., and Vibhuti P. Dave, Ph.D., (who is now at the Institute of Clinical Research of Montreal); Fox Chase scientific technician Yi Zhang; Xiang Hua, manager of Fox Chase's transgenic mouse facility; Fox Chase research associate Emmanuelle Nicolas, Ph.D.; and Weihong Xu, Ph.D., and Bruce A. Roe, Ph.D., both of the University of Oklahoma's department of chemistry and biochemistry.