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  1. Ethical Science News

  2. Jun 19, 2014

In Vitro Human Immune Cells Effective in Evaluating New Vaccines

Human immune cells may be a new alternative to animals for evaluating new vaccine candidates, according to a study published in ALTEX.

Researchers compared the ability of a new vaccine and an existing vaccine to activate human dendritic cells.

These studies revealed that the new vaccine is better able to induce an immune response than the existing vaccine, and the results gained from these in vitro studies mirror those observed in animal models. This human-based technique is being proposed as a way to reduce the use of animals in vaccine development.

References

  1. Etna MP, Giacomini E, Severa M, et. al. A human dendritic cell-based in vitro model to asses Mycobacterium tuberculosis SO2 vaccine immunogenicity. ALTEX. Published ahead of print May 20, 2014.

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