Skip to main navigation Skip to main content
The University of Southampton
Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body

Examples of Research Using Animals at UoS

Please find below some examples and case studies of research conducted by the University of Southampton that use animals or utilise animal models.

ASPA regulated projects (case studies)

New bone regeneration from stem cells and bio-materials - From the laboratory to the clinic

Image alt text placeholder

(A) In-vitro and pre-clinical research using mice on stem cell/bone allograft impaction to regenerate bone and stimulate blood vessel growth.

(B) Clinical translation to repair femoral head avascular necrosis and femoral neck fibrous cortical bone loss.

(C) Clinical studies using stem cells in conjunction with 3D hips to aid in hip bone repair and regeneration.

Our skeletal regenerative work is producing candidate bio-materials that support bone stem cell growth and skeletal regeneration improving healing of fractures where major bone loss is a critical clinical problem for the patient. Here we demonstrate in-vitro and pre-clinical research using mice on stem cell/bone allograft impaction to regenerate bone and stimulate blood vessel growth. This work has led to the clinical translation to repair femoral head avascular necrosis and femoral neck fibrous cortical bone loss. Furthermore, this work informed the clinical studies using stem cells in conjunction with 3D printed hips to aid in very large hip bone repair and regeneration. Learn more about this project and its work below:

NTS - Skeletal tissue engineering

The role of integrins in axonal survival and healing

Image alt text placeholder

Nerve Fibres

modified intergrins within nerve cells. The nerve cell is re-expressing the integrin protein throughout the cell leading to successful regenerative growth.

Our work on repairing the central nervous system focuses on traumatic injury to the brain and/or spinal cord. Using rat and mouse models of spinal cord injury, our work has demonstrated that growth-promoting proteins known as integrins are not present in the nerve cells of the mature central nervous system. Our work has demonstrated that a fundamental difference exists in sensory versus motor nerve cells when integrin proteins are re-expressed. Specifically in cell culture models as well as in-vivo, sensory nerve cells readily re-express integrin protein throughout the cell leading to successful regenerative growth. Conversely, motor nerve cells in-vivo sequester integrin protein within the cell body excluding it from growing tips of the cell resulting in failed regeneration. Several other proteins similar to integrins (transmembrane proteins) have the same issue. Currently we are modifying how integrins are localised within nerve cells using molecular approaches with an aim to increase regenerative growth in motor systems as well as to improve translation of therapeutics into in-vivo models. Learn more about this project and its work below:

NTS - Nervous system injury and repair

Mechanisms of interaction between neutrophils and T cells

Image alt text placeholder

This image shows T cells (yellow) interacting with a neutrophil (teal) in the spinal cord of a mouse with EAE. The neutrophil has released its antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin (purple). Researchers have shown that this contact of T cells with cathelicidin drives the development of autoimmune T cells during Multiple Scloerosis (MS).

Researchers at Southampton are investigating how T cells respond to damage, infection and disease. These cells are important for clearing infections and storing memory; for example, after vaccinations. However, if they are triggered in the wrong place, or respond too strongly, they can cause autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or inflammatory bowl disease. Researchers hypothesise that this balance of helpful to pathogenic T cells is in part managed through the T cells' interaction with neutrophils. They investigate how T cells are switched on in the blood, lymph nodes, spinal cord and intestines during multiple models. In particular, they are using models of MS such as EAE (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis), solid tumour models, vaccination with model antigen and injection of T cell-triggering antibodies and cytokines. To understand how T cells interact with neutrophils during these models, they deplete, or alter neutrophils themselves or particular neutrophil mediators such as antimicrobial peptides. Learn more about this project and its work below:

NTS - Mechanisms of interaction between neutrophils and T cells

Novel immunotherapeutic strategies to treat cancer

The overarching objective of the research performed under this Procedures Project Licence (PPL) is to develop new strategies to treat cancer by using the immune system (immunotherapy). The current focus is on three main areas:

Developing and understanding how immune molecules called antibodies can target and destroy tumour cells.

Designing strategies to promote immune responses to cancer using antibodies and other immune-stimulating molecules.

Identify factors influencing tumour growth and development and how cells that surrounds the tumour cells can be manipulated to improve anti-cancer treatments.

Image alt text placeholder

The blood supply of tumours is often restricted leading to low levels of oxygen (red=low oxygen), research has found that this results in an increase in a particular protein (FcgRII; green) which can change how tumours respond to antibody therapy. Research has gone on to find that blocking the FcgRII protein can improve therapy, this is now being investigated in humans in several trials.

As the immune system patrols through the whole body, involved in all its organs and tissues, it is critical to evaluate these aspects in whole-body organisms and ideally, those most closely related to humans. Mice have simular immune systems to humans, making them a very useful species to study immunotherapy. To further improve the ability of mice to model human immunology, mice are often used where the human gene has been swapped with the comparable mouse gene. Importantly, these mouse studies have allowed significant progress in all three aspects described above. In targeting tumour cells, it has been possible to understand which immune cells are most important for activity and how to design antibodies to kill the tumour cells most effectively. In designing antibodies, there has been the discovery of new ways of making antibodies (engineering) that increase their ability to stimulate the immune response and destroy cancer cells. In examining the cells that surround the tumour we have discovered how these can be influenced by the tumour cells to help the tumour grow and survive. This has allowed the design of new treatments to overcome this issue. Critically, all three of these aspects have helped progress antibodies to the clinic alongside biotech/industrial partners. Discoveries in human trials will then feedback into this work to allow further improvement in in-vivo experiments to design even more effective cancer therapeutics. Learn more about this project and its work below:

NTS - Novel immunotherapeutic strategies to treat cancer

Mitigating the impacts of river engineering on fish

Our work studying fish behaviour end ecology is helping to reduce the ecological impacts of urbanisation and river engineering. This includes monitoring changes in the fish community following habitat restoration to reverse historic engineering practices. Information obtained enables us to measure the success of the restoration and better inform the design of future projects. Out work studying fish behaviour and physiology in the lab helps to develop and improve mitigation technology, such as fish passage facilities at river infrastructure (e.g. dams), or to understand the ocological consequences of urbanisation (e.g. the impacts of light pollution on fish and the wider aquatic environment). This research is important because freshwater ecosystems are considered the most degraded on earth and populations of freshwater fish have suffered serious declines in recent decades. Increasing levels of urbanisation and river engineering practices are recognised as an important driver in these declines. We also carry out research on fish welfare to help us (and millions of others working with fish) refine husbandry practices and improve the reproducibility of our work. Learn more about this project and its work below:

NTS - Mitigating impacts of river engineering on fish

Non-ASPA regulated projects (case studies)

Solent oyster restoration project

Native European oysters ( Ostrea edulis ) are a keystone species in the ecology of estuaries and coastal waters and designated as a BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) species by the UK government. The Solent oyster population, which used to be the largest self-sustaining population in the UK, has been seriously depleted by a mixture of disease, human exploitation and predation in the past 20 years. The School of Ocean and Earth Sciences (SOES) at the University of Southampton is one of the partners in local initiatives, many led by the Blue Marine Foundation, to restore the Solent oyster to its former abundance. SOES research focuses on establishing the physiological reactions of oysters to a variety of environmental influences and quantifying the environmental impacts of re-laid oysters within the Solent. This work combines a mixture of aquarium investigations and field trials.

Whole animal imaging

Please find a video produced by the University of Southampton's Biomedical Imaging Unit (BIU) on how they safely image animals in a research laboratory.

 
 
 

Non-technical summaries (NTS)

Links can be found below to some NTS reports from Procedures Project Licences (PPLs), intended for the public, these summaries were written by our researchers and included in their PPLs.

NTS reports from PPLs granted in 2024:

NTS - Mechanisms of function and dysfunction in electrically excitable cells

NTS - Neutrophil T cell interactions in inflammatory disease

NTS - Development of advanced pre-clinical models for the study of tumour and host immune cell interaction

NTS reports from PPLs granted in 2025:

NTS - Driver of cancer drug resistance

Privacy Settings
In vivo to human in high resolutionImage taken using fluorescent microscope showing nerve fibre re-growth in high resolutionFluorescence of Acropora coral in high resolution