An isolated rat liver cancer stem cell line which is named as TW-1 is provided. A method for drug screening by using the isolated rat liver cancer stem cell line is also provided.

Provided is a method for developing a secondary organ by using a non-human animal in which organ formation is inhibited, for the purpose of establishing a process for producing a functional cell such as a β cell within the body of an animal such as a pig, the method including the step of raising a newborn or a fetus of the non-human animal in which organ formation is inhibited by complementing at least a part of the function of the organ whose formation is inhibited.

The present invention provides an expression vector for preventing or inhibiting HIV entry, fusion or replication in mammalian cells. In particular, the invention provides a recombinant retroviral vector that encodes an inhibitor of a HIV co-receptor, such as CCR5 or CXCR4, and a protein that inhibits HIV fusion to target cells and/or HIV replication. Pharmaceutical compositions comprising such constructs and methods of use thereof to prevent or treat HIV infection in a patient are also disclosed.

The present invention provides certain donor animals, tissues and cells that are particularly useful for xenotransplantation therapies. In particular, the invention includes porcine animals, as well as tissue and cells derived from these, which lack any expression of functional alpha 1,3 galactosyltransferase (aGT) and express one or more additional transgenes which make these animals suitable donors for xenotransplantation of vascularized xenografts and derivatives thereof. Methods of treatment and using organs, tissues and cells derived from such animals are also provided.

The invention provides in vivo methods for identifying cancer-associated immunotherapy targets.

The present invention provides a non-human animal having human interleukin-34 (IL-34) in the body thereof; a method for producing a non-human animal having human microglia, which includes transplanting human CD34-positive hematopoietic stem cells into the non-human animal having human IL-34 in the body; and a method for producing human microglia, which includes obtaining human microglia from the non-human animal having human microglia.

The present invention relates to an avian model enabling the amplification of human or animal circulating tumour cells (CTC) and to the use thereof for monitoring and determining the sensitivity of a patient or an animal suffering from cancer to one or more therapeutic agent(s), as well as for screening novel therapeutic agents intended for the treatment of cancer.

Provided is a method for developing a secondary organ by using a non-human animal in which organ formation is inhibited, for the purpose of establishing a process for producing a functional cell such as a β cell within the body of an animal such as a pig, the method including the step of raising a newborn or a fetus of the non-human animal in which organ formation is inhibited by complementing at least a part of the function of the organ whose formation is inhibited.

The invention provides genetically modified non-human animals that express a humanized MHC II protein (humanized MHC II α and β polypeptides), as well as embryos, cells, and tissues comprising the same. Also provided are constructs for making said genetically modified animals and methods of making the same. Methods of using the genetically modified animals to study various aspects of human immune system are provided.

A mouse with a humanization of the mIL-3 gene and the mGM-CSF gene, a knockout of a mRAG gene, and a knockout of a mIl2rg subunit gene; and optionally a humanization of the TPO gene is described. A RAG/Il2rg KO/hTPO knock-in mouse is described. A mouse engrafted with human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that maintains a human immune cell (HIC) population derived from the HSCs and that is infectable by a human pathogen, e.g., S. typhi or M. tuberculosis is described. A mouse that models a human pathogen infection that is poorly modeled in mice is described, e.g., a mouse that models a human mycobacterial infection, wherein the mouse develops one or more granulomas comprising human immune cells. A mouse that comprises a human hematopoietic malignancy that originates from an early human hematopoietic cells is described, e.g., a myeloid leukemia or a myeloproliferative neoplasia.