For many years immunologists have experimented with genetically inbred mice housed in clean quarantined facilities. These facilities protect experimental mice from exposure to environmental pathogens, including viruses that humans are exposed to in daily life. Dr. Hamilton and co-investigators have conducted research in which they house pathogen-free inbred mice with mice from pet stores that carry environmental microbes, and then track CD8+ T cell behavior both in the pet store mice and in the inbred mice housed with them. In the pilot study, they characterized CD8+ T cell populations and distribution in various organs of environmentally exposed mice and found measurable differences compared to CD8+ T cells from environmentally protected inbred mice.
