Lupus Researchers Will Examine Ways To Best Apply Findings From Lupus Mouse Model To Human Lupus

Nearly 200 lupus researchers, clinicians and representatives from government, industry, academia and nonprofit organizations involved in lupus research will gather on the campus of the National Institutes of Health to look at ways to best apply research findings from lupus mouse models to human lupus. The agenda includes presentations from twenty scientists, including discussions about new insights into lupus gained from clinical studies and animal models, advances and challenges in treating lupus, analysis of the genetics of lupus in humans and animals, and the future of lupus research and treatment.

"This meeting is bringing together researchers that are experts in mouse models of lupus and human lupus," says Dr. Gary Gilkeson, Professor of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, and Chair of the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA)'s Medical-Scientific Advisory Council.  "The goal will be to review the current state of research in mouse models of lupus and how they can best be applied to human lupus in defining new biomarkers, new genes and new treatments of disease."

This meeting on September 2-3 at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland is sponsored by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Cancer Institute (NCI), and NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH). The LFA assisted with meeting planning and has helped to underwrite a portion of the expenses associated with the meeting as part of its ongoing support for research to advance the science and medicine of lupus.

According to Dr. Gilkeson, who will be among the presenters, "the lupus research community and lupus patients have benefitted for over 30 years from the availability of different mouse strains that spontaneously develop lupus. Newer strains of mice in which specific genes are overexpressed or knocked out in normal mice and in lupus strains have provided substantial insight into the causes of lupus." 

At the present time, there are a number of mouse models used in lupus research, including spontaneous disease models, induced disease models, and models generated by manipulating genetic background and particular genes. Their relevance to human disease has been the subject of debate. Research using these models has demonstrated that a number of genes are involved in lupus and the genes are different for different strains of mouse models. Mouse models have been helpful in studying the genetics of lupus, but also for research on the environmental factors, the possible cause(s) of lupus as well as for testing new potential treatments and validating findings gained from human studies in lupus.

During this meeting participants will discuss similarities, as well as differences, seen in human disease and animal models. Organizers are also hopeful that participants may be able to develop a consensus around the most important features of lupus and what animal models might be most useful in future studies of the disease. The LFA will report additional details of the meeting in a future issue of The Lupus Research Report. If you don't already receive LFA's eNewsletter you can sign up for free.

About the LFA National Research Program

The Lupus Foundation of America's National Research Program is dedicated to Bringing Down the Barriers that have for decades obstructed basic biomedical, clinical, epidemiological, behavioral, and translational research on lupus. Using a comprehensive national three-pronged strategy, the LFA advances research on lupus by directly funding investigators through a peer-reviewed grant program, conducting special initiatives or collaborating with academic institutions or government agencies to address specific research objectives, and advocating for increased investment by federal and state governments and the nation's pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Source:
Lupus Foundation of America