THE SCID-HU MOUSE - AN IN-VIVO MODEL FOR HIV-1 INFECTION IN HUMANS

The lack of suitable animal models for the in vivo study of HIV-1 infe ction has prompted investigators to take advantage of the graft-reject ion deficit in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. Two separa te approaches have been used to transplant human lymphoid and/or hemol ymphoid tissues into SCID mice to generate chimeric animals in which d istinct elements of the human immune system could be maintained and st udied in vivo. The two models that arose from this work were the SCID- hu mouse and hu-PBL-SCID mouse. The goal of producing these distinct m odels is to provide an easily manipulable model for the in vivo analys is of HIV-1 infection and its ensuing pathophysiology. Both models sup port HIV-1 replication and display potential as models for studying an tiviral strategies and mechanisms of viral pathogenesis. This review f ocuses on the SCID-hu mouse.