Moreau T, Bardin F, Barlogis V, Le Deist F, Chabannon C, Tonnelle C. Hematopoietic engraftment of XLA bone marrow CD34(+) cells in NOG/SCID mice.
Cytotherapy 2009;
11:198-205. [PMID:
19235603 DOI:
10.1080/14653240802716616]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AIMS
X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) is a rare primary immunodeficiency associated with mutations of the BTK (Bruton agammaglobulinemia tyrosine kinase) gene. Non-functional BTK leads to a severe decline in peripheral B cells and profound pan-hypogammaglobulinemia. Substitutive immunoglobulin replacement therapy improves long-term survival but remains a symptomatic rather than curative treatment that does not provide an optimal quality of life. Hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy represents a potentially curative treatment. Thorough pre-clinical testing of innovative therapies requires that adequate disease models are available. Invalidation of the murine btk gene produces a phenotype that is less severe than the human disease; alternatively, xenotransplantation of human hematopoietic progenitors obtained from XLA patients may provide a model for testing new treatment procedures.
METHODS
The standard of care for XLA patients rarely offers an opportunity to collect peripheral blood or bone marrow (BM) hematopoietic progenitors; however, we had access to two BM samples obtained from such individuals. We analyzed hematopoietic engraftment of immunoselected CD34(+) cells from these samples in NOD/SCID/ gammac(null) (NOG) mice.
RESULTS
In both cases, human hematopoietic cells were readily detected in BM and thymus, and at low levels in spleen and peripheral blood. Unexpectedly, the early defect in B-lymphoid differentiation associated with XLA was not accurately reproduced in NOG mice, as large amounts of pre-B cells were found in BM.
CONCLUSIONS
These results support the existence of differences in environmental regulation of B-cell ontogeny between mice and humans. This questions the relevance of the NOG xenograft model for pre-clinical study of XLA gene therapy.
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