Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
19
Chimeric Models of SCID Mice
Transplanted with Human Cells:
The Hu-PBL-SCID Mouse and
Its Use in AIDS Research
S. M. Santini,* C. Lapenta,* M. Logozzi,* S. Parlato,* M. Spada,*
T. Di Pucchio,* S. Fais,
y
and F. Belardelli*
* Laboratory of Virology and
y
Laboratory of Immunology, Istituto Superiore
di SanitÁ, Roma, Italy
INTRODUCTION
SCID (severe combined immunode®cient) mice are characterized by a genetic
defect in their DNA repair system that does not allow gene rearrangement of
both immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor genes. Because they lack mature B
and T cells, SCID mice are profoundly de®cient in both humoral and cellular
immunity and cannot reject allografts and xenograft ( Bosma and Carroll,
1991). Two major chimeric human/SCID mouse models have proved to be of
special interest in acquired immunode®ciency syndrome (AIDS) research: 1) the
so-called ``hu-PBL-SCID mouse model,'' originally developed by Mosier and
co-workers (1988); and 2) the ``SCID-hu model,'' described by McCune and
colleagues (1988). Both animal models have been widely used over the last de-
cade for studies on the pathogenesis and therapy of HIV-1 infection. In this
chapter, we will review the major characteristics of the hu-PBL-SCID mouse
model, which has been extensively used in our laboratory over the last 5 years.
The speci®c features of the SCID-hu model, in which human hematopoie-
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