Final Experimental Models

Question 1

How is cell culture used as an experimental model?

Answer 1

• can either use immortal cells or harvest cells

- can test basic cellular responses

Question 2

What is a flow chamber

Answer 2

It can expose cells to a dynamic flow of fluids

Question 3

What is 3D tissue culture?

Answer 3

• using magnets you can get cells to grow into 3D models

- allows for differentiation of various cell subpopulations

Question 4

What are the advantages of cell culture?

Answer 4

• simple ethics
• simplified system, less confounding variable
• lots of reagents

Question 5

What are the disadvantages of cell culture?

Answer 5

• no adaptive immunity, simple innate immunity

- hard to study process beyond the cellular level

Question 6

What are the advantages of using flies and worms?

Answer 6

• cheap
• no ethics needed
• rapid breeding
• easy genetic manipulation

Question 7

What are the disadvantages of using flies and worms

Answer 7

• no adaptive immunity
• small, hard to do surgeries
• limited reagents

Question 8

What is special about the zebrafish experimental model?

Answer 8

• have a complete immune system

- young are transparent

Question 9

What are the advantages to using fish as an experimental model?

Answer 9

• cheap
• visualize process in a translucent model
• rapid breeding
• innate and adaptive immunity

Question 10

What are the disadvantages to using fish as an experimental model?

Answer 10

• aquatic
• hard for behavioural studies
• non-classic immune system
• limited reagents

Question 11

What is good about using rodents as an experimental model?

Answer 11

• immune system is close to humans
• they’re a good size, easy to do surgeries and house
• mice are genetically pliable
• can control the breeding

Question 12

What don’t work when using rodents as an experimental model?

Answer 12

• rodents aren’t people
• have cured sepsis and cancer
• can infect with E.Coli they survive

Question 13

What happens to rodents when they’re injected with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)?

Answer 13

• generates MS like symptoms in mice

- however the severity is bad then goes normal unlike humans who’s severity gets increasingly bad

Question 14

How should someone choose a model?

Answer 14

-choose a model that most closely parallels humans for that single aspect of interest

Question 15

Which experiments require ethics?

Answer 15

• all experiments involving higher animals (veterbrae) require approval from an ethics committee
• all journals/grants require confirmation of ethics before funding

Question 16

What does animal ethics entail?

Answer 16

• requires human handling to minimize pain and discomfort

- must have three R’s; reduce, replace, refine

Question 17

What are the ethical issues and goals for humans (prisoners)?

Answer 17

• freedom
• informed consent
• privacy
• incentive

Question 18

What are observational studies?

Answer 18

-just watching and taking note of things that happen regardless of the study

Question 19

What are interventional studies?

Answer 19

• testing a new treatment
• always requires informed consent
• happen in phase 2 and 3

Question 20

Whats the best way to test if something works ethically on humans? Like a vaccine?

Answer 20

• vaccinate a large amount of people
• follow these people for a long time
• compare infection rates
• very expensive