Samstag, 02.05.2015

Lehre

Antrittsvorlesung: Mouse models for autoimmune diseases

Milestones of the development - Antrittsvorlesung von Dr. rer. nat. Xinhua Yu am 26. Mai (17 Uhr c.t., Hörsaal T1, Transistorium)

Autoimmune diseases, a groups of disorders comprising more than 100 different diseases, affect about 5-8% of the population worldwide. They are characterized by inflammation and tissue damage in self organs which are mediated by self reactive T cells and/or autoantibodies. It is widely accepted that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of autoimmunity. However, the pathogenesis and the etiology of most autoimmune diseases still need to be elucidated. As the most widely used animals for modeling autoimmune disorders, mice have been extensively used to study disease pathogenesis and facilitate  the search for novel therapeutics.

Since the first mouse model of multiple sclerosis was established more than 60 years ago, hundreds of mouse models have been established for tens of autoimmune diseases. These mouse models can be divided into two categories based on the approaches used for the disease induction. The first one represents the induced models in which autoimmunity is initiated in mice by immunization, adoptive transfer or environmental factors. The second group are the spontaneous models where mice develop autoimmune disorders without further induction. 

The aim of this lecture is to provide an general overview and a reference guide for the field of mouse models of autoimmune disease. The lecture will start with a short introduction of autoimmune diseases, followed by the history and major milestones of the development of mouse models for autoimmune diseases.

(Habilitation im Fachgebiet Immunologie)

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