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TEST-TUBE NERVE CELLS OFFER HOPE British researchers have discovered an innovative way to skip animal tests as they search for new treatments for a disfiguring genetic disease. Patients with neurofibromatosis develop multiple tumors on nerves in the brain and spinal cord.

Professor Oliver Hanemann and his team at the South West Peninsula Medical School use cultures of normal and tumor-derived human neural cells grown in plastic dishes in the laboratory to both investigate the biology of the tumors and quickly screen potential therapies that might kill the tumor cells. Since the team uses therapies already approved by the United Kingdom’s drug-screening process, successful candidates from the cellular model tests can go directly to trials in human patients. The studies have already revealed key aspects of the cells that affect their growth and allowed the cancer drug sorafenib to move into clinical trials. “Using human in vitro cell culture, which is the unique aspect of our work, allows us to move seamlessly and relatively quickly from lab-based biochemistry to drug therapies, clinical trials, and hopefully successful outcomes,” said professor Hanemann.

ALTERNATIVES TO ANIMAL RESEARCH

VaxDesign is changing the way researchers study the immune system with the MIMIC (Modular IMmune In vitro Constructs) system, which is described as “immune testing in a test tube.”

Many researchers looking for new vaccines use animals, including mice, rats, dogs, and nonhuman primates. More animals are used to test the potency of each batch of vaccine. These tests are not only cruel but they also often do not accurately predict human immune response, as has been illustrated by the many failures of potential HIV vaccines in clinical trials and the TGN412 clinical disaster in the United Kingdom.

MIMIC allows researchers to test potential human immune system responses to new or existing vaccines. The system uses human cells, but it is better than a single-cell culture model because it contains different modules that cover the entire vaccination process: the tissue at the vaccination site (usually mucosal tissue), lymphoid system tissue, and functional tests that mirror the immune system response. The system is contained within a plate of test tubes that can be used with an automated system, which saves time and money as well as animals’ lives.

VaxDesign is currently undergoing a validation program designed to offer data that will allow the MIMIC system to be used for safety testing. VaxDesign was awarded an Innovation Fund award from the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative this year.

Source: www.vaxdesign.com.