title: Successful multilineage engraftment of human cord blood cells in pigs after in utero transplantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Successful engraftment of human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) in a large animal may serve not only as a model to study human hematopoiesis but also as a bioreactor to expand human HSPCs in vivo. The aim of this study was to accomplish xenotransplantation of human HSPCs into pig.
  
  
  METHODS
  Total mononuclear or CD34-positive HSPCs obtained from human cord blood were xenotransplanted percutaneously under an ultrasonographic guidance into preimmune pig fetuses. Peripheral blood and bone marrow (BM) cells of recipient pigs were collected and analyzed for the presence of human cells by a polymerase chain reaction to detect human specific Alu sequence on DNA extracted from those cells. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis was also performed to detect human hematopoietic cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Transplantation of human cord blood cells into pig fetuses aged less than 52 days postcoitus resulted in a good engraftment rate. In one case, engraftment was detected up to 315 days posttransplantation by polymerase chain reaction. Human hematopoietic cells were detectable also by FACS in peripheral blood and BM. Furthermore, human CD34+ HSPCs were also observed in the BM of recipients. Those CD34+ cells in BM were sorted by FACS and subjected to further analyses. First, in vitro colony formation assay resulted in formations of multilineage colonies. Second, when they were transplanted into an immunodeficient mouse they were engrafted in the mouse.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data indicate an engraftment of human HSPCs in pig BM. In utero transplantation of human HSPCs into a preimmune pig fetus is useful to establish a pig reproducing human hematopoiesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences and Center for Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance, University of Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujiki
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukawa
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kameyama
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onodera
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Ken-ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yagami
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shiina
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.forename: Hiromitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakauchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000196:embryology; D002460:Cell Line; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000166:cytology*; D005333:Fetus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000601:surgery*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D051379:Mice; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D016513:Mice, SCID; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013552:Swine; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous
chemical_list: D004247:DNA