Generation of Rag1 and Il2rg immunodeficient rats and application to humanization studies

International audienceModeling the immune response and rational immune approaches in vivo have relied heavily on studies performed in immunodeficient mouse models. These mouse models are groundbreaking platforms to humanize different tissues and organs and to evaluate compounds to treat a variety of human diseases, from cancer and infectious diseases to allergies, inflammation and GVHD. Rats are ideally suited to perform experiments in which larger size is needed and are still a small animal model suitable for rodent facilities.We describe here the generation of Il2rg-deficient rats and their crossing with previously described Rag1-deficient rats, generating for the first time double-mutant Rat Rag1 and Il2rG KO (RRG) animals