title: Sustained recovery of hematopoiesis and immunity following transplantation of fetal liver cells in dogs.
abstract: We studied the ability of fetal liver cells to reconstitute hematopoiesis and immunity in lethally irradiated dogs. Engraftment and sustained lymphoid and hematopoietic recovery was achieved when the recipients received a preparative regime of high-dose total body irradiation (TBI) alone followed by transplantation of DLA-identical fetal liver. The combination of high-dose TBI and cyclosporine allowed engraftment in DLA-mismatched fetal liver transplants. Typical features of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) did not occur although autoimmune-like syndromes (myasthenia gravis, immune thrombocytopenia) were observed in some recipients. Hematopoietic recovery was rapid and complete. Recovery of T- and B-lymphocyte function was comparatively delayed, but sufficient to prevent opportunistic infections after the initial 3 months post transplant. These data indicate that cells from a single fetal liver can reconstitute hematopoiesis and immunity in DLA-mismatched recipients and suggest that human fetal liver cell transplantation may be an effective source of stem cells for patients who lack an HLA-identical donor for bone marrow transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology), UCLA Center for The Health Sciences.
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Champlin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cain
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stitzel
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Gale
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D005333:Fetus; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006410:Hematopoiesis; D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D007109:Immunity; D008099:Liver / Q000196:embryology; D016031:Liver Transplantation
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D006649:Histocompatibility Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; C039692:histocompatibility antigen DLA