Induction of human gamma delta T cells in myasthenia gravis thymus transplanted SCID mice.
BACKGROUND
TCR-gamma delta cells develop by extrathymic differentiation and might play an important role in thymectomy-resistant myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. In this study, we show development of human TCR-gamma delta cells in periphery of SCID mice by transplantation of human MG thymus or thymoma.


METHODS
Three pieces of thymoma tissue and four of non-thymoma thymic tissues were obtained from MG patients by thymectomy. Each tissue was transplanted into 5-6 weeks old female SCID mice by intraperitoneal injection or surgical implantation. Rate of human TCR-positive cell development and its subtypes (TCR-alpha beta, TCR-gamma delta) were measured in the mice blood at one, three, and six weeks after the transplantation.


RESULTS
Human TCR-positive cells were detected three weeks after transplantation. Rate of TCR-gamma delta T cell development got higher in thymoma transplanted group than in non-thymoma transplanted group.


CONCLUSIONS
We could successfully develop human mature T cells in SCID mice by transplantation of human MG thymus or thymoma.
Iwata
T
T
Second Department of Surgery, Osaka City University Hospital, Japan.
Inoue
K
K
Kato
T
T
Nishida
T
T
Kinoshita
H
H
D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / Q000235:genetics*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D013945:Thymoma; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms
D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta