Translating discoveries from the lab into the clinic is a key part of the UK DRI’s mission. However, there can sometimes be a disconnect between discovery and clinical research, resulting in challenges in turning research findings into tangible impacts for patients. Early career researchers (ECRs) from the UK DRI’s Vascular Theme discussed current issues in translating from lab to clinic and back again, at a lively workshop in Edinburgh.
Cognitive tests
Assessing cognition is essential in clinical research, to monitor and understand disease progression. Replicating these tests in animal models can generate vital insight into the drivers of the behavioural changes seen in human disease. However, there are limitations to modelling human behaviour in animals – it is obvious that mice in particular cannot simply be thought of as tiny humans; their cognitive abilities and social behaviours are not always comparable to ours.
Matt Padgett, a PhD student at the University of Nottingham, asked:
“Could it be more representative to study innate animal behaviours, such as nesting and grooming, rather than conditioning animals to mimic human behaviour in the form of mazes and cognitive tasks?”
Perhaps reconsidering the way we assess cognition in animal models could help to overcome some of these issues in translating animal studies into human trials. Indeed, a major new Grand Challenge project at the UK DRI seeks to do exactly this, employing the phenomenon of neural replay, which is well conserved between rodents and people.
Imaging
Similar questions around translatability arise when thinking about brain imaging. Brain cells in rats and mice versus humans are similar, but there are key differences that must be taken into consideration.
At a microscopic level, human and rodent brains are nearly identical, sharing the same organization and cell types. At the macroscopic scale, the two are very different. While the general plan and the regions are the same, mouse brains are, of course, much smaller. In addition, mice have much less white matter than humans, and their brains don’t have the typical folded surface pattern observed in humans and bigger species.
