Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Transgenic Mouse Model of Chronic Beryllium Disease

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/953218· OSTI ID:953218

Animal models provide powerful tools for dissecting dose-response relationships and pathogenic mechanisms and for testing new treatment paradigms. Mechanistic research on beryllium exposure-disease relationships is severely limited by a general inability to develop a sufficient chronic beryllium disease animal model. Discovery of the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) - DPB1Glu69 genetic susceptibility component of chronic beryllium disease permitted the addition of this human beryllium antigen presentation molecule to an animal genome which may permit development of a better animal model for chronic beryllium disease. Using FVB/N inbred mice, Drs. Rubin and Zhu, successfully produced three strains of HLA-DPB1 Glu 69 transgenic mice. Each mouse strain contains a haplotype of the HLA-DPB1 Glu 69 gene that confers a different magnitude of odds ratio (OR) of risk for chronic beryllium disease: HLA-DPB1*0401 (OR = 0.2), HLA-DPB1*0201 (OR = 15), HLA-DPB1*1701 (OR = 240). In addition, Drs. Rubin and Zhu developed transgenic mice with the human CD4 gene to permit better transmission of signals between T cells and antigen presenting cells. This project has maintained the colonies of these transgenic mice and tested the functionality of the human transgenes.

Research Organization:
NYU School of Medicine
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
DOE Contract Number:
FG02-04ER63919
OSTI ID:
953218
Report Number(s):
DOE/RD832528
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Development of Biomarkers for Chronic Beryllium Disease in Mice
Technical Report · Thu Jan 24 23:00:00 EST 2013 · OSTI ID:1060004

Comparison of HLA class II genes in Caucasoid, Chinese, and Japanese patients with primary Sjoegren's syndrome
Journal Article · Thu Apr 15 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · Journal of Immunology; (United States) · OSTI ID:6180079

Crystal structure of HLA-DP2 and implications for chronic beryllium disease
Journal Article · Tue Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA · OSTI ID:1002407