top of page
Search
Writer's pictureJulie Collorafi

The Fetal Industry's Essential Connection to the COVID-19 Vaccines

Updated: Nov 23, 2021

As I have endeavored to document in my series of articles so far, human fetal tissue is the sine qua non, the essential element, running through the creation of the COVID-19 pathogen by Ralph S. Baric at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and its various antidotes, from the COVID-19 vaccine (specifically to the Moderna vaccine), to REGN-COV2 (the monoclonal antibody cocktail "miracle cure" which Trump famously took), to Molnupiravir (the COVID-19 antiviral pill) and to the precision humanized mice test models specifically created to test the COVID vaccines and therapeutics.


For more information on the use of the HEK293 stem cell line in COVID-19 vaccines, please visit the Children of God For Life's excellent website.


My focus has been mostly on the use of humanized mice implanted with human fetal tissue or humanized with human fetal tissue-derived hormones or antibodies in the research, development and testing of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics. Some examples of each are discussed below.


MMRRC's Mutant Mouse Model for COVID-19 Research


An example of a COVID-19 vaccine test mice model humanized with hormones and antibodies derived from human fetal cells can be found in the catalog of the federally-funded MMRRC (Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center) which provides mutant test mice to researchers in the biomedical community. The MMRC, which operates on the campuses of the University of California, the University of Missouri, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and at the Jackson Laboratory in Maine, offers several varieties COVID-19 test mouse model in their catalog.


The description of the first model on the page, from the B6J.Cg-Tg(FOXJ1-ACE2)1Rba/Mmnc strain, links twice to the 2016 Menachery et al. study conducted by Ralph S. Baric and UNC researchers, "SARS-like WIV1-CoV poised for human emergence." The second link in the description refers to the antibody FOXj1 which is derived from human embryonic stem cells.


The mice offered here are modeled on the humanized mice used in the landmark Menachery at al. study which were humanized with fetal clone serum derived from human fetal tissue and with the FOXj1 antibody which is also derived from human embryonic stem cells.


For more details on the MMRRC Mutant Test model, see my article, "COVID-19 Test Mice in NIH-Funded Mutant Mice Catalog Humanized with Human Fetal Cells."


University of North Carolina's HfH4-hACE2 Mouse Model for COVID-19 Vaccine and Antiviral Testing (Dinnon et al.)





In August, 2020, Ralph S. Baric and a team of UNC researchers published a study showing how they used the HfH4-hACE2 humanized mouse model to detail their development of a new strain of mouse-adapted SARS-COV2 virus which could more efficiently replicate in the same humanized mice model they used in their 2016 Menachery et al. study.


The UNC researchers' goal as stated in this 2020 study, "A mouse-adapted model of SARS-CoV-2 to test COVID-19 countermeasures":


Next, instead of genetically altering the host, we sought to remodel the SARS-CoV-2 S receptor-binding domain (RBD) to facilitate efficient binding to mouse ACE2.

Fetal clone serum was used in the experiment, which was also used in the 2016 Menachery et al. study. As explained by Dr. Kathleen Ruddy in her video on the Menachery et al study, fetal clone serum is a hormone synthesized from human fetal tissue.


From the Methods section of the 2020 study:

HfH4-ACE2 mice bred at the University of North Carolina were used. These are the same mice models used in the Menachery et al. study. They were humanized with fetal clone serum and injected with the FOXj4 antibody which was derived from the HEK293 human embryonic kidney stem cell line as discussed in a previous article.


The mice were vaccinated and evaluated. The authors' conclusion as stated in the Introduction:


We demonstrate the utility of this model using vaccine-challenge studies in immune-competent mice with native expression of mouse ACE2. Finally, we show that the clinical candidate interferon-λ1a (IFN-λ1a) potently inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication in primary human airway epithelial cells in vitro—both prophylactic and therapeutic administration of IFN-λ1a diminished SARS-CoV-2 replication in mice.

The UNC HfH4-ACE2 mouse model humanized with fetal clone serum and the HEK293-derived antibody FOXj4 appears to be the basic COVID-19 test mouse model made available as shown above from the NIH-funded MMRRC for COVID-19 vaccine research. However, UNC researchers also developed an even more specialized and more highly humanized model as discussed below.



University of North Carolina's Two Precision Mice Models for In Vivo Testing of Coronavirus Therapeutics (Wahl et al.)





The two precision mouse models for COVID-19 vaccine testing are discussed in great detail in my article, "UNC Researchers Made "BLT Sandwich" of Aborted Baby Organs in 2019 Humanized Mice Study".


In this 2019 clinical study conducted at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Ralph S. Baric and his team genetically engineered two mice models to test vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory diseases, including coronavirus. The first model, the humanized Lung Only mice (LOM), were generated by surgically implanting two small pieces of human fetal lung tissue onto separate sites on the back of immunodeficient mice.


The second model, the BLT-L (bone marrow-liver-thymus-lung) mice, were constructed in this manner as described in the section of the study entitled: "Generation of Humanized Mice":


BLT-L mice were constructed by implanting a sandwich of human fetal thymus-liver-thymus tissue (Advanced Bioscience Resources) under the kidney capsule of irradiated (200 rad) 10–15-week-old male and female NSG mice. Two pieces of autologous human lung tissue (~2–4 mm3) were implanted subcutaneously into the right and left back. Following tissue implantation, animals received a bone marrow transplant (via tail-vein injection) of autologous liver-derived human CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells. (Emphasis added.)

The very alert reader will note how the researchers inserted a gruesome insider joke about making a BLT "sandwich" with aborted baby liver and thymus and implanting it into a BLT-L humanized mice and then grafting fetal lung tissue on its back.


The reference to "Advanced Biosciences Resources" in red print in the direct quote above signifies that the human fetal liver, thymus and lung were obtained from Advanced Bioscience Resources, an organ trafficking partner with Planned Parenthood, whose business with the HHS and NIH has been documented by Judicial Watch.


The Wahl et al. study was replicated in 2020 by another team of UNC researchers to test Molnupiravir, the COVID-19 antiviral pill. Dr. Tara Sander Lee of the Charlotte Lozier Institute did a deep dive and verified that twelve aborted babies were sacrificed to provide the tissue samples necessary for that study.


Humanized mice implanted with aborted baby thymus, liver and lung tissue are highly prized for COVID vaccine research. Kim Hasenkrug, notorious NIH researcher and immunologist whom Judicial Watch has documented as buying aborted baby organs from Advanced Bioscience Resources, demanded in March, 2020, that the Trump Admin lift its ban on fetal research specifically so he could replicate Baric's precision mice models for COVID research. UNC researchers allegedly offered 12 mice engineered by this study to Hasenkrug, but he could not use them because of the Trump Administration's ban on fetal research. More detalis in this article.


The BLT-L is highly significant since it has been touted as being of particular importance as a vaccine test model as noted in this November, 2019 Nature Methods article:


These observations also suggest the BLT-L mice may be useful for vaccine testing in the future.

Boston University's HFNL Humanized Mice Models for Development of SARS-CoV2 Immunotherapies (Kenney, O'Connell et al.)



A large group of Boston University and Princeton researchers co-engrafted human fetal lung xenografts (fXL) and a myeloid-enhanced human immune system to construct the HFNL humanized mouse in a study entitled, "Macrophages govern antiviral responses in human lung tissues protected from SARS-CoV-2 infection."


In the Discussion section of the study, published on July 9, 2021, they claim that the combination of co-engraftment of fetal lung tissue and a human immune system in the mice"resulted in protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as limited inflammation and histopathology."


A summary of the results:

Altogether, our work emphasizes the potential of fetal tissue-engrafted mice to transform our understanding of human immunity to pave the way toward more effective treatments against infectious diseases.

In the Methods section of the paper, the researchers reveal that the fetal lung tissue (within a gestational age range of 18 to 22 weeks) was obtained from Advanced Bioscience Resources (ABR) and explain how they grafted the lung tissue onto both sides of a midline incision on the back of each mouse. Fetal lung samples were taken from eight different "donors" in this study.


Screenshot from the Methods section of the study:




Next, the researchers describe how they extracted CD34+ cells from human fetal liver obtained from ABR from three different "donors" between a gestational age range of 16-22 weeks.


Screenshot from the Methods section of the study:





It would appear that organs from eleven aborted babies were used in this humanized COVID test mice project.


For more details on this gruesome Boston University humanized mice project read this article.



Yale University's MSTRG6-hACE2 COVID-19 Humanized Mouse Test Model (Sefik et al.)



Another example of COVID-19 vaccine test mice humanized with human fetal organs can be found in a a March 17, 2021 scientific study published on the NIH website conducted by researchers from Yale University which documented the use of human fetal liver to humanize the test mice for COVID-19 vaccines.


In the Introduction of the study, entitled "A humanized mouse model of chronic COVID-19 to evaluate disease mechanisms and treatment options," Yale University researchers state their objective:



The team of researchers proposed to genetically engineer a humanized mouse model using the engraftment of human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Human fetal liver is the primary source for hematopoiesis, so this is the clue right away that human fetal organs were used in the study.


A look at the Methods and Materials section reveals that CD34+ cells were extracted from the human fetal liver and injected into the liver of the mice.




The Yale researchers were working in a Regeneron Pharmaceuticals laboratory and were working under a Yale-Regeneron material transfer agreement as shown in this screenshot from the Materials and Methods section:




It would appear that the Yale-Regeneron MSTRG6-hACE2 mice with human immune systems constructed with human fetal liver were developed in collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals specifically for the testing of monoclonal antibody treatments on COVID-19-infected humanized mice.


This is yet another example like the Wahl et al. study discussed previously of humanized mice engrafted with human fetal tissue specifically for the testing of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics.


For more details on this Yale-Regeneron humanized mouse project, see this article.


Columbia University's Humanized COVID-19 Test Mice





Columbia University offers humanized immune system mice models for research using HSC's (human stem cells) from human fetal tissue. They state that they use human fetal thymus but can substitute it with other alternatives to make to make the research eligible for federal funding.


Screenshot from their website:





Mouse Biology Program at University of California's Humanized COVID-19 Test Mice Project




In August, 2020, The Trump Administration's NIH awarded a $1.2 million grant to the Mouse Biology Program at the University of California-Davis to create a cohort of humanized mice susceptible to the COVID-19 virus and distribute them to researchers:


From the August 3, 2020 press release on the University of California's Mouse Biology Program's website:


The National Institutes of Health has awarded a grant of $1.2 million to the Mouse Biology Program at the University of California, Davis, to create mice that are susceptible to the COVID-19 virus, and to distribute them to researchers. The goal is to create mice that can be used to reproduce human COVID-19 disease, said Kent Lloyd, director of the Mouse Biology Program and professor in the Department of Surgery at the UC Davis School of Medicine. (Emphasis added.)

The Mouse Biology Program at UCSF has been the recipient of millions of dollars worth of grants from the federal government and is one of the primary providers of cohorts of humanized mice to researchers through its program.


UCSF researchers have decades of experience in making humanized mice with human fetal organs, called the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mouse. They contracted with the HHS from 2006 to 2019 to make cohorts of two different models of humanized mice every month: the SCID-hu Thy/Liv mice engrafted with tissue from a single donor and immunodeficient mice engrafted with human fetal thymus and liver tissue and other cells and/or tissues.


Read more details here about this program.


Institut Pasteur's (Paris) HuLung and HIS-HuLung Humanized Mice COVID Test Models


The use of humanized mice engrafted with human fetal organs in COVID vaccine research is a worldwide endeavor. The Institut Pasteur in France is working on a project entitled "Modeling Human SARS-COV2 Infection in Mice with Human Lung Xenografts," and are constructing two humanized COVID-19 test models, "the HuLung mice (human lung) and HIS-HuLung mice (and human immune system and human lung)" which sounds very similar to the Wahl et al. precision mouse models discussed above.


Screenshot from their website:



Kinki-Chuo Chest Medical Center's (Japan) SCID-PBL/hu COVID-19 Test Mouse Models (Okada et al.)



Japanese researchers at the Kinki-Chuo Chest Medical Center in Osaka, Japan, used SCID-PBL/hu mouse models to develop a SARS coronavirus vaccine in an April, 2007 study published on the NIH website (Okada et al.).


Their study, entitled, "Development of vaccines and passive immunotherapy against SARS corona virus using SCID-PBL/hu mouse models," used SCID-PBL/hu mice to prove that SARS M DNA vaccines could be useful tool in the development of vaccines.


They explain why they used the SCID-PBL/hu mice in the Introduction:


In the present study, the SCID-PBL/hu model, which is capable of analyzing in vivo human immune response, was used because it is a more relevant translational model for human cases [4]. These vaccines induce neutralizing antibody and CTL. This is the first report inducing antibody against SARS M. Theses vaccines should provide useful tool for development of protective vaccines in human. (sic)

The SCID-PBL/hu mice are immunodeficient mice engrafted with human cells and tissues. As mentioned above, these were being engineered at the University of California-Davis with aborted baby organs obtained from ABR.


A graphic from Creative Biolabs Therapeutics illustrates the generation of the SCID-PBL/hu mouse:



Saskatechewan University Lung Only Mice Project for COVID-19 Research (Wahl et al.)


NIH researcher Kerry Lavender is producing a continuous supply of Ralph Baric's Lung Only precision mice model for COVID research at Saskatchewan University using fetal lung tissue. Read more details here: Saskatchewan University Professor Making Large Supply of Ralph Baric's Gruesome Lung Only MIce.



CONCLUSION


These examples above demonstrate the widespread use of mice humanized either with hormones and antibodies derived from human fetal tissue or various models humanized by the engraftment of human fetal liver, thymus and lung tissue for COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutics research.


The highly humanized and specialized BLT-L mouse model containing human fetal, liver and lung tissue is the most highly prized of all. In their 2020 Virulence article, Pujhari et al. detail the shortcomings of other small animal models and praise the Wahl et al. LOM and BLT-L precision mice models developed at UNC in 2019 as the "idealized model for COVID-19 and other respiratory illness."


My search for even more corroboration on the use of human fetal tissue in the research and development and testing of COVID vaccines and therapeutics continues.



UPDATE: More COVID-19 test models discussed in this article. These are very sophisticated COVID-19 test models of human organoids, tissues and cells derived from multiple human embryonic stem cell lines. Some were transplanted into mice; others are used in the laboratory as testing platforms.




3,541 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page