Summaries of 2019 research
Lay summaries of research that involved animals in 2019.
As part of the Concordat on Openness on Animal Research in the UK, we provide lay summaries of research that involves animals for all new granted project licences.
T lymphocyte dependent immunity
What animals are you planning to use?
Mice.
For what purpose are the animals going to be used?
To test whether the immune system can be boosted to fight cancers and viruses by improving the recruitment or homing of white blood cells to diseased tissues.
What will be the harms to those animals and how will these be limited?
White blood cells carrying non-toxic markers will be injected into the bloodstream of tumour-bearing or virally-infected mice and the mice humanely culled at timed intervals. Body fluids and tissues are to be analysed to determine whether white blood cells have entered tissues. A typical experiment would aim to understand the role of a particular homing molecule. Animals will be treated with agents that reduce or increase the homing molecule’s activity or by using genetically altered animals with reduced or increased homing molecules and measuring the effect on white blood cell homing and the extent of disease. The majority of protocols are simple and involve only transient discomfort, usually after a single injection. Some protocols will require a greater potential for discomfort, such as those involving infection with live microorganisms or tumour growth. For these ‘moderate’ protocols a detailed scoring system will be used to assess the welfare of the animals and humane endpoints will be used to prevent additional adverse effects.
What alternatives did you consider before embarking on the use of animals in your research?
Public databases will be used to study homing pathways operating in virus-infected and cancerous tissues. In vitro assays using isolated immune cells and blood vessel cells will used to study homing pathways..
What will be the expected benefits?
Identification of strategies to improve the effectiveness of the immune system will contribute to improving the health of humans and animals by combating chronic debilitating diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity and chronic infection.
Role of blood-derived growth factors in brain health
What animals are you planning to use?
Mice.
For what purpose are the animals going to be used?
To understand whether brain health, including memory performance can be maintained or improved by growth factors present in the blood. The work focuses on the growth factor brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) now known to play a key role in memory and the prevention of cognitive decline during aging. BDNF is not only present in the brain but in humans, it is also found in circulating blood platelets. As this is not the case in the mouse, we developed a humanised mouse model based on our findings at Cardiff University. They led to the identification of the cellular source of BDNF and we used this knowledge to manipulate the mouse genome so as to replicate the situation in humans. This research should also help to understand the benefits of physical exercise well known to retard cognitive decline in humans, possibly explained by increased levels of BDNF both in the brain and in the blood.
What will be the harms to those animals and how will these be limited?
The experiments involve the generation of mice with genetic modifications. These modifications are generated using cultured cells called embryonic stem cells that once engineered in culture are used to generate animals carrying the genetic mutation. The procedures used are similar to those used in humans in the context of in vitro fertilisation.
What alternatives did you consider before embarking on the use of animals in your research?
The basis of this research was established using cultured cells whereby there is no alternative to the use of whole animal experiments to understand the role of the blood circulation and blood components in brain function and health.
What will be the expected benefits?
The benefits of this research will be a better understanding of what is needed to improve or preserve the function of the brain during development and ageing. In particular, the known benefits of physical exercise are likely to be better understood as a result of this research.
Regulation of early heart development in vertebrates
What animals are you planning to use?
Frog (Xenopus) embryos before they reach feeding stage.
For what purpose are the animals going to be used?
To improve knowledge of early heart development.
What will be the harms to those animals and how will these be limited?
Adult frogs are used for mating to obtain embryos. Egg-laying is induced by injection of hCG (human pregnancy hormone), a mild procedure with minimal harm potential.
What alternatives did you consider before embarking on the use of animals in your research?
Human embryonic (pluripotent) stem cells-derived cardiomyocytes. However, these are an in vitro model which is complementary to Xenopus embryos, rather than an alternative.
What will be the expected benefits?
Improved knowledge of early vertebrate heart development, which could lead to better models and treatments for heart disease.
Lay summaries by year
Consideration of the 3Rs is the basis of everything we do related to animal research.