Of human, not mice: ​
Species-specific immunological differences
The components of the immune system ​
The immune system is a network of biological processes that protect against disease. The white blood cell compartment is an essential facet of this immune system, protecting against pathogens and other damaging stimuli with the potential to cause disease. These white blood cells include both myeloid cells (neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, and monocytes) as well as lymphocytes (T cells, B cells, and NK cells).
Blood Cell Lineages
The immunological Differences between the humans and mice
Lab mice are the most widely used experimental mammalian model for immunological research, and have yielded tremendous insight into the workings of the human immune system. However, humans and mice are separated by millions of years of evolutionary divergence, resulting in substantial differences between the murine and humans immune systems. One of the most notable differences is the ratio of myeloid to lymphoid cells as a fraction of total white blood cells, with human blood being predominantly enriched for myeloid cells, whereas lymphocytes are predominant in murine blood. There are also notable discrepancies between humans and mice with respect to the expression and distributions of Toll-like receptors, NK inhibitory receptor families, FcγRs, cytokines, and cytokine receptors on different immune cell populations. Overlooking these immunological inconsistencies between humans and lab mice has the potential to preclude the translation of preclinical trial results generated in mice into successful clinical treatments.
The composition of the human and mouse immune system
