Growth and biologic properties of karyotypically defined subcategories of adult acute lymphocytic leukemia in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency

Modest progress has been achieved over the past two decades in the treatment of adult acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). With modern therapy, response rates are 70% to 80%, but cure rates only average 25% to 30%. Improved in vivo models are needed to investigate the biology of adult ALL and to test new treatment concepts. Fresh leukemia samples from children with ALL have been successfully transplanted into mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), but no experience exists for adult ALL. We treated SCID mice with 2 mg cyclophosphamide 24 hours before intravenously injecting 20 x 10(6) viable leukemia cells obtained from 13 patients with newly diagnosed adult ALL within five defined phenotype/karyotype subcategories. Ten (76%) of 13 injected leukemia specimens representing all five categories engrafted. The median survival duration of mice was 20 weeks from the time of leukemia cell injection. The rate of engraftment by ALL subset was as follows: two of two T-cell, two of three t(11q23), two of two hyperdiploid, two of three t(9;22), and two of three diploid ALL. The pattern of organ involvement by leukemia in the mice was similar to that of the human disease. Immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry documented the stability of each leukemic phenotype after passage through SCID mice. Cells transplanted from the spleen and bone marrow of mice engrafted with ALL into recipient mice resulted in consistent engraftment. The survival duration in passage groups was similar to that in groups injected with primary cells. The high frequency of engraftment, availability of frozen original specimens, and successful passages in SCID mice provide an in vivo model of adult ALL suitable for further studies of the disease biology and for design of drug studies for the different subtypes of previously untreated adult ALL.

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Epithelial stem cell-mediated development of the human respiratory mucosa in SCID mice

Journal of Cell Science ◽

10.1242/jcs.113.5.767 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 113 (5) ◽

pp. 767-778 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. Delplanque ◽

C. Coraux ◽

R. Tirouvanziam ◽

I. Khazaal ◽

E. Puchelle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Epithelial Cells ◽

Sex Chromosome ◽

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Scid Mice ◽

Functional Assay ◽

Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Freezing And Thawing ◽

Normal Epithelium ◽

Tracheobronchial Epithelium

We have developed an in vivo assay for progenitor cells of the human tracheobronchial epithelium relying on the transplantation of human prenatal respiratory tissues into severe combined immunodeficiency mice. Engrafted embryonic or fetal open tracheobronchial rudiments are rapidly closed at each end by a neoformed membrane that we named the operculum. After 2–4 weeks, differentiated human respiratory epithelium covers both the native airway matrix and the new operculum. Human epithelial cells dissociated from either emerging embryonic lung primordia or mature xenografts were seeded in host human airway grafts, of which native epithelium had been eliminated by several cycles of freezing and thawing. All grafts seeded with donor epithelial cells and implanted back into SCID mice recovered a surface mucociliary epithelium expressing expected markers and secreting mucus. Spontaneous epithelium regrowth was never observed in control unseeded, denuded grafts. In some experiments, donor epithelial cells and host denuded airway were sex-mismatched and the donor origin of newly formed epithelial structures was confirmed by sex chromosome detection. After two rounds of seeding and reimplantation, a normal epithelium was observed to line the 3rd generation operculum. These observations substantiate a functional assay for human candidate airway epithelium stem cells.

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Natural killer (NK) cell response to virus infections in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency. The stimulation of NK cells and the NK cell-dependent control of virus infections occur independently of T and B cell function.

Journal of Experimental Medicine ◽

10.1084/jem.173.5.1053 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 173 (5) ◽

pp. 1053-1063 ◽

Cited By ~ 118

Author(s):

R M Welsh ◽

J O Brubaker ◽

M Vargas-Cortes ◽

C L O'Donnell

Keyword(s):

Nk Cells ◽

Natural Killer ◽

Cell Response ◽

Nk Cell ◽

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Scid Mice ◽

Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Virus Infections ◽

Mcmv Infection

The activation, proliferation, and antiviral properties of natural killer (NK) cells were examined in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice to determine the influence of mature T or B cells on virus-induced NK cell functions and to more conclusively determine the antiviral properties of prototypical CD3- NK cells. NK cells were activated to high levels of cytotoxicity 3 d after infection of mice with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) or murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV). Analyses of spleen leukocytes from LCMV-infected mice by a variety of techniques indicated that the NK cells proliferated and increased in number during infection. Propidium iodide staining of the DNA of cycling cells revealed that the great majority of proliferating spleen leukocytes 3 d after LCMV infection was of the NK cell phenotype (CD3-, Ig-, Mac-1+, CZ1+, 50% Thy-1+), in contrast to uninfected mice, whose proliferating cells were predominantly of other lineages. Analyses of the NK cell responses over a 2 wk period in control CB17 mice infected with MCMV indicated a sharp rise in serum interferon (IFN) and spleen NK cell activity early (days 3-5) in infection, followed by sharp declines at later stages. In SCID mice the IFN levels continued to rise over a 10-d period, whereas the NK cell response peaked on day 3-5 and gradually tapered. In contrast to the immunocompetent CB17 mice, SCID mice did not clear the MCMV infection and eventually succumbed. SCID mice, again in contrast to immunocompetent CB17 mice, also failed to clear infections with LCMV and Pichinde virus (PV); these mice, infected as adults, did not die but instead developed long-term persistent infections. Depletion of the NK cells in vivo with antiserum to asialo GM1 rendered both SCID and CB17 control mice much more sensitive to MCMV infection, as shown by titers of virus in organs and by survival curves. In contrast, similar depletions of NK cells did not enhance the titers of the NK cell-resistant virus, LCMV. Two variants of PV, one sensitive to NK cells and the other selected for resistance to NK cells by in vivo passage, were also tested in NK cell-depleted SCID mice. The NK-sensitive PV replicated to higher titers in NK cell-depleted SCID mice, whereas the titers of the NK cell-resistant PV were the same, whether or not the mice had NK cells. These experiments support the concept that CD3- prototypical NK cells mediate resistance to NK cell-sensitive viruses via a mechanism independent of antiviral or "natural" antibody.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Mice Engrafted With Human T Cells, B Cells, and Myeloid Cells After Transplantation With Human Fetal Bone Marrow or Liver Cells and Implanted With Human Fetal Thymus: A Model for Studying Human Gene Therapy

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v89.5.1800.1800_1800_1810 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 89 (5) ◽

pp. 1800-1810 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sergey Yurasov ◽

Tobias R. Kollmann ◽

Ana Kim ◽

Christina A. Raker ◽

Moshe Hachamovitch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Therapy ◽

Bone Marrow ◽

T Cells ◽

Peripheral Blood ◽

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Precursor Cells ◽

Scid Mice ◽

Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Human T Cells

To develop an in vivo model wherein human hematopoiesis occurs, we transplanted severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice with either human fetal bone marrow (HFBM) or human fetal liver (HFL). After transplantation of SCID mice with cultured HFBM (BM-SCID-hu mice) or HFL cells (Liv-SCID-hu mice), significant engraftment of the mouse bone marrow (BM) and population of the peripheral blood with human leukocytes was detected. Human colony-forming unit–granulocyte macrophage and burst forming unit-erythroid were detected in the BM of the BM-SCID-hu and Liv-SCID-hu mice up to 8 months after transplantation. When the HFBM or HFL cells were transduced with a retroviral vector before transplantation, integrated retroviral sequences were detected in human precursor cells present in the SCID mouse BM and in leukocytes circulating in the peripheral blood (PB) up to 7 months after transplantation. The PB of the BM-SCID-hu mice also became populated with human T cells after implantation with human thymic tissue, which provided a human microenvironment wherein human pre-T cells from the BM could mature. When the HFBM was retrovirally transduced before transplantation, integrated retrovirus was detected in sorted CD4+CD8+ double positive and CD4+ single positive cells from the thymic implant and CD4+ cells from the PB. Taken together, these data indicated that the BM of our BM-SCID-hu and Liv-SCID-hu mice became engrafted with retrovirally transduced human hematopoietic precursors that undergo the normal human hematopoietic program and populate the mouse PB with human cells containing integrated retroviral sequences. In addition to being a model for studying in vivo human hematopoiesis, these mice should also prove to be a useful model for investigating in vivo gene therapy using human stem/precursor cells.

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In vivo efficacy of B43 (anti-CD19)-pokeweed antiviral protein immunotoxin against human pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v79.9.2201.2201 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 79 (9) ◽

pp. 2201-2214 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

FM Uckun ◽

C Manivel ◽

D Arthur ◽

LM Chelstrom ◽

D Finnegan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽

Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Scid Mice ◽

Standard Errors ◽

Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Pokeweed Antiviral Protein ◽

Antiviral Protein ◽

Kaplan Meier

Abstract A highly aggressive subclone of the human CALLA+C mu+ pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell line NALM-6 (designated NALM-6-UM1) caused disseminated and fatal leukemia in CB.17 mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). An intravenous challenge with 1 x 10(6) (NALM-6-UM1 cells caused 15 of 27 (56%) SCID mice to become paraplegic at 31 +/- 2 days (median = 33 days) and 27 of 27 (100%) mice to die of disseminated leukemia at 38 +/- 1 days (median = 39 days). We used this SCID mouse model of aggressive human pre-B ALL to evaluate the in vivo antileukemic efficacy of B43 (anti-CD19)-pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) immunotoxin. A 3-day treatment with nontoxic doses of B43- PAP markedly reduced the incidence of paraplegia and improved event- free survival (EFS) in SCID mice challenged with 1 x 10(6) NALM-6-UM1 pre-B ALL cells, as reflected by significantly higher cumulative proportions of mice free of paraplegia or alive at 1 to 7 months, as compared with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) treated control mice. The Kaplan-Meier estimates and standard errors of the probability of developing paraplegia after inoculation of 1 x 10(6) NALM-6-UM1 cells was 64% +/- 10% for PBS-treated mice (median time to paraplegia = 37 days) (N = 27), 18% +/- 8% for mice treated with 15 micrograms B43-PAP (5 micrograms/mouse/d x 3 days) (N = 23) and 5% +/- 5% for mice treated with 30 micrograms B43-PAP (10 micrograms/mouse/d x 3 days) (N = 21). While 27 of 27 PBS-treated control SCID mice died of leukemia at 38 +/- 1 days (range = 24 to 54 days), only 16 of 44 B43-PAP-treated mice developed leukemia at 74 +/- 12 days (range = 30 to 182 days), consistent with greater than or equal to 6 logs kill of clonogenic NALM- 6-UM1 cells in 64% of SCID mice. The Kaplan-Meier estimates and standard errors of the probability of long-term EFS after inoculation of 1 x 10(6) NALM-6-UM1 cells were 65% +/- 10% for mice treated with 15 micrograms B43-PAP and 60% +/- 11% for mice treated with 30 micrograms B43-PAP with a median survival time of greater than 7 months for both groups. In contrast, neither unconjugated B43 monoclonal antibody nor the anti-T-cell immunotoxin G17.2 (anti-CD4)-PAP decreased the incidence of paraplegia or improved EFS.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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Toll-Like Receptor 7-Targeting of Human B-Lineage Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Induces Immunogeneicity and Apoptosis of Leukemia Cells.

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v108.11.706.706 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 108 (11) ◽

pp. 706-706 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xueqing Liang ◽

Jakub Tolar ◽

Jeffery S. Miller ◽

Tucker W. LeBien ◽

Bruce R. Blazar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

T Cell ◽

Cell Lines ◽

Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Scid Mice ◽

Lymphocytic Leukemia ◽

Leukemia Cells ◽

Tlr7 Agonist ◽

B Lineage

Abstract Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood leukemia and remains a difficult disease with poor survival in patients who have failed standard therapy. New therapeutic strategies are needed to achieve longer survival and improved cure rates in both pediatric and adult ALL patients. In this study, we show human B-lineage acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL) cell lines (6/6 tested) and CD19+CD10+ primary B-ALL cells from patients (8/8 tested) express TLR7 mRNA by real-time RT-PCR and TLR7 proteins by Western blot. Triggering TLR7 on B-ALL cells with a TLR7 agonist (imiquimod) significantly increases the cell surface expression of molecules essential for T cell activation (CD40, CD54, CD80, CD86, and HLA-DR), the ligands for NKG2D and ligands for natural cytotoxicity receptors (NKp30, NKp44, and NKp46) which regulate NK-mediate killing. Thus, TLR7 signaling enhances the immunogenicity of B-ALL cells and makes them more suitable targets for T cell and NK cell mediated attack. Most importantly, TLR7 agonists strongly suppress in vitro growth of B-ALL cell lines (RS4;11, BLIN-1) and induces profound apoptosis of primary B-ALL cells from patients in culture in a TLR7 agonist dose-dependent manner. Both t(4;11)-positive RS4;11 cells and t(4;11)-negative BLIN-1 cells proliferate rapidly in culture with a 30–40 fold increases of leukemia cell number in 7 days. The addition of TLR7 agonist at 10 ug/ml fully inhibit the growth of RS4;11 and BLIN-1 cells in culture. Furthermore, TLR7 agonist treatment dramatically induces apoptosis of primary B-ALL cells isolated from the patients (2/2 with t(9;22), 6/6 without t(9;22)) with 0.4%–13.3% leukemia cells left at day 5 of culture. The TLR7 agonist-mediated apoptotic death of B-ALL cells was conformed by viable cell counts, TMRE staining, and, Western blots of the activation and cleavage of caspases. To study the in vivo therapeutic effects of TLR7 agonist against human B-ALL, RS4;11 and BLIN-1 cells were luciferase labeled and injected into NOD/SCID mice. Both RS4;11 and BLIN-1 leukemia cells engrafted in multiple organs (BM, spleen, liver, lymph nodes, kidney) resulting in uniform lethality of RS4;11 mice in 8 weeks and BLIN-1 mice in 12 weeks, respectively. Flow cytometry and tissue staining results confirmed that these organs were massively infiltrated with human CD45+19+ leukemia cells. To determine whether TLR7 preincubation of RS4;11 or BLIN-1 cells would prolong survival due to an apoptotic effect, cohorts of mice were injected with a lethal dose of RS4;11 or BLIN-1 cells with or without pre-incubation with TLR7 agonist. Mice receiving TLR7 agonist pre-pretreated B-ALL cells had a significant increase in long-term survival rate and significant reduction in tumor burden at the time points evaluated. These in vivo results confirm previous in vitro findings and suggest that TLR agonist-treated B-ALL cells are programmed to die. The antitumor efficacy of systemic administration of TLR7 agonist in NOD/SCID mice with established B-ALL is being investigated using these xenograft mouse models. These results form the basis for a clinical trial of systemic TLR7 agonist administration for treating patients with B-ALL. In summary, we have shown that TLR7 targeting increases B-ALL immunogenicity and directly induces B-ALL apoptosis, providing new insights into the biology and therapy of B-ALL.

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A novel human osteoblast–derived severe combined immunodeficiency mouse model of bone metastasis

Journal of Neurosurgery Spine ◽

10.3171/spi.2006.4.5.388 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

pp. 388-391 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

James Schuster ◽

Jun Zhang ◽

Maria Longo

Keyword(s):

Bone Metastasis ◽

Mouse Model ◽

Bone Tumor ◽

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Human Tumor ◽

Scid Mice ◽

Spine Metastasis ◽

Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

In Vivo Models ◽

Human Osteoblasts

Object One of the major difficulties of conducting bone metastasis research is the lack of adequate models for studying the bone–tumor microenvironment. The limitations of current in vivo models include the following: non-human tumor or bone, variable reproducibility, limited supply, and an inability to be easily manipulated. The objective of the present study was to develop a uniform and reproducible model of bone/spine metastasis by utilizing bone derived from human osteoblasts grown subcutaneously in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice with subsequent introduction of human carcinoma cell lines. Methods Human osteoblasts were serially passed in culture and induced to differentiate into mature osteoblasts. They were subsequently loaded on hydroxyapatite-coated collagen sponges and implanted subcutaneously into the SCID mice. After allowing the bone to mature for 8 weeks, tumor cell suspensions were implanted percutaneously into the bone. The bone–tumor complexes were subsequently harvested, decalcified, and prepared for histological examination. Conclusions The authors have developed a novel, reproducible SCID mouse model of bone/spine metastasis by using bone derived from human osteoblasts and subsequently introduced human tumor lines. They believe this model will be useful for studying the basic biology of bone metastases.

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In vivo efficacy of B43 (anti-CD19)-pokeweed antiviral protein immunotoxin against human pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v79.9.2201.bloodjournal7992201 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 79 (9) ◽

pp. 2201-2214

Author(s):

FM Uckun ◽

C Manivel ◽

D Arthur ◽

LM Chelstrom ◽

D Finnegan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽

Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Scid Mice ◽

Standard Errors ◽

Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Pokeweed Antiviral Protein ◽

Antiviral Protein ◽

Kaplan Meier

A highly aggressive subclone of the human CALLA+C mu+ pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cell line NALM-6 (designated NALM-6-UM1) caused disseminated and fatal leukemia in CB.17 mice with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). An intravenous challenge with 1 x 10(6) (NALM-6-UM1 cells caused 15 of 27 (56%) SCID mice to become paraplegic at 31 +/- 2 days (median = 33 days) and 27 of 27 (100%) mice to die of disseminated leukemia at 38 +/- 1 days (median = 39 days). We used this SCID mouse model of aggressive human pre-B ALL to evaluate the in vivo antileukemic efficacy of B43 (anti-CD19)-pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) immunotoxin. A 3-day treatment with nontoxic doses of B43- PAP markedly reduced the incidence of paraplegia and improved event- free survival (EFS) in SCID mice challenged with 1 x 10(6) NALM-6-UM1 pre-B ALL cells, as reflected by significantly higher cumulative proportions of mice free of paraplegia or alive at 1 to 7 months, as compared with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) treated control mice. The Kaplan-Meier estimates and standard errors of the probability of developing paraplegia after inoculation of 1 x 10(6) NALM-6-UM1 cells was 64% +/- 10% for PBS-treated mice (median time to paraplegia = 37 days) (N = 27), 18% +/- 8% for mice treated with 15 micrograms B43-PAP (5 micrograms/mouse/d x 3 days) (N = 23) and 5% +/- 5% for mice treated with 30 micrograms B43-PAP (10 micrograms/mouse/d x 3 days) (N = 21). While 27 of 27 PBS-treated control SCID mice died of leukemia at 38 +/- 1 days (range = 24 to 54 days), only 16 of 44 B43-PAP-treated mice developed leukemia at 74 +/- 12 days (range = 30 to 182 days), consistent with greater than or equal to 6 logs kill of clonogenic NALM- 6-UM1 cells in 64% of SCID mice. The Kaplan-Meier estimates and standard errors of the probability of long-term EFS after inoculation of 1 x 10(6) NALM-6-UM1 cells were 65% +/- 10% for mice treated with 15 micrograms B43-PAP and 60% +/- 11% for mice treated with 30 micrograms B43-PAP with a median survival time of greater than 7 months for both groups. In contrast, neither unconjugated B43 monoclonal antibody nor the anti-T-cell immunotoxin G17.2 (anti-CD4)-PAP decreased the incidence of paraplegia or improved EFS.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Mice Engrafted With Human T Cells, B Cells, and Myeloid Cells After Transplantation With Human Fetal Bone Marrow or Liver Cells and Implanted With Human Fetal Thymus: A Model for Studying Human Gene Therapy

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v89.5.1800 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 89 (5) ◽

pp. 1800-1810 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Sergey Yurasov ◽

Tobias R. Kollmann ◽

Ana Kim ◽

Christina A. Raker ◽

Moshe Hachamovitch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Therapy ◽

Bone Marrow ◽

T Cells ◽

Peripheral Blood ◽

Severe Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Precursor Cells ◽

Scid Mice ◽

Combined Immunodeficiency ◽

Human T Cells

Abstract To develop an in vivo model wherein human hematopoiesis occurs, we transplanted severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice with either human fetal bone marrow (HFBM) or human fetal liver (HFL). After transplantation of SCID mice with cultured HFBM (BM-SCID-hu mice) or HFL cells (Liv-SCID-hu mice), significant engraftment of the mouse bone marrow (BM) and population of the peripheral blood with human leukocytes was detected. Human colony-forming unit–granulocyte macrophage and burst forming unit-erythroid were detected in the BM of the BM-SCID-hu and Liv-SCID-hu mice up to 8 months after transplantation. When the HFBM or HFL cells were transduced with a retroviral vector before transplantation, integrated retroviral sequences were detected in human precursor cells present in the SCID mouse BM and in leukocytes circulating in the peripheral blood (PB) up to 7 months after transplantation. The PB of the BM-SCID-hu mice also became populated with human T cells after implantation with human thymic tissue, which provided a human microenvironment wherein human pre-T cells from the BM could mature. When the HFBM was retrovirally transduced before transplantation, integrated retrovirus was detected in sorted CD4+CD8+ double positive and CD4+ single positive cells from the thymic implant and CD4+ cells from the PB. Taken together, these data indicated that the BM of our BM-SCID-hu and Liv-SCID-hu mice became engrafted with retrovirally transduced human hematopoietic precursors that undergo the normal human hematopoietic program and populate the mouse PB with human cells containing integrated retroviral sequences. In addition to being a model for studying in vivo human hematopoiesis, these mice should also prove to be a useful model for investigating in vivo gene therapy using human stem/precursor cells.

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