title: Human adaptive immune system Rag2-/-gamma(c)-/- mice.
abstract: Although many biologic principles are conserved in mice and humans, species-specific differences exist, for example, in susceptibility and response to pathogens, that often do not allow direct implementation of findings in experimental mice to humans. Research in humans, however, for ethical and practical reasons, is largely restricted to in vitro assays that lack components and the complexity of a living organism. To nevertheless study the human hematopoietic and immune system in vivo, xenotransplantation assays have been developed that substitute human components to small animals. Here, we summarize our recent findings that transplantation of human cord blood CD34(+) cells to newborn Rag2(-/-)gamma(c)(-/-) mice leads to de novo development of major functional components of the human adaptive immune system. These human adaptive immune system Rag2(-/-)gamma(c)(-/-) (huAIS-RG) mice can now be used as a technically straightforward preclinical model to evaluate in vivo human adaptive immune system development as well as immune responses, for example, to vaccines or live infectious pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine II, Eberhard-Karls-University Medical School, Otfried-Mueller Str. 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Laurie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chicha
authors.forename: Roxane
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tussiwand
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Traggiai
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mazzucchelli
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bronz
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Piffaretti
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lanzavecchia
authors.forename: Markus G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Manz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000276:immunology; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D055316:Cystatin C; D015891:Cystatins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000502:physiology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous
chemical_list: D018952:Antigens, CD34; C525030:CST3 protein, human; C525031:Cst3 protein, mouse; D055316:Cystatin C; D015891:Cystatins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C499311:RAG2 protein, human; C499308:Rag2 protein, mouse