The Need

Lymphoma is the most common blood cancer. The two main forms of lymphoma are Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Lymphoma occurs when cells of the immune system called lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, grow and multiply uncontrollably. T-cell lymphomas account for approximately 15 percent of all NHLs in the United States and one of the most common forms of T-cell lymphoma is cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), a general term for T-cell lymphomas that involve the skin. CTCL also can involve the blood, the lymph nodes, and other internal organs (Lymphoma Research Foundation). Currently, there is a need for modeling techniques to improve the treatment efficacy for CTCL. Previous mouse models of CTCL were created using skin engraftments or the transplantation of malignant T-cell or CTCL cell lines. These models offer a limited scope of study as they exhibit poor dissemination of malignant T -cells or do not offer a mechanism for studying the de novo generation of CTCL.

The Technology

The Ohio State University researchers, led by Dr. Anjali Mishra, have bred transgenic mice that over-express cytokine IL-15 gene, which causes the development cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Until now, the prevalent method of modeling CTCL in mice was a xenograft non-spontaneously occurring CTCL model. This model, however, uses a technique that engineers transgenic mice to express a gene that causes the natural development of CTCL in mice. This model allows for the study of the disease from inception and efficacy of potential therapeutics, as opposed to previous methods

Commercial Applications

• The primary use of this model would be to help develop pharmaceuticals designed to treat CTCL in humans.
• It would also allow for more accurate and in-depth research on the development of the CTCL disease.

Benefits/Advantages

• This model provides a realistic representation of actual, spontaneous, development on CTCL in humans.
• This allows for a far more accurate study of the natural development of CTCL in animals than previous models
• The advantage of this model would be that it would bypass many IRB regulations, as a more accurate study of the disease could be conducted without using human subjects; research on CTCL using this model would be quicker and easier because of the use of spontaneously developed disease.