Human autoimmunity genes in mice

In the post-genomic era, the expression and investigation of human (auto)im munity genes seems more relevant than ever. The generation of humanized ani mal models of human diseases will be useful to study the interplay between genetic and nongenetic factors in disease development and may form a basis for the development of new drugs that act more specifically than the ones c urrently in use. Transgenic mice have been generated that express various h uman proteins - candidate autoantigens, disease-associated MHC class II mol ecules, TCRs and/or CD4 - in order to study diseases such as rheumatoid art hritis, multiple sclerosis and diabetes.