The Preconditioning of Busulfan Promotes Efficiency of Human CD133+ Cells Engraftment in NOD Shi-SCID IL2Rγcnull (NOG) Mice via Intra-Bone Marrow Injection

Abstract

Human CD133+ stem cells were injected into the bone marrow cavity of NOG (NOD Shi-SCID IL2Rγcnull) mice with or without preconditioning of busulfan in order to assess the efficiency of human CD133+ cells engraftment. Peripheral blood from CD133+-engrafted NOG mice was analyzed by flow cytometry. The results showed that human CD19+ B lymphocytes could be detected at 4 weeks post-transplantation, and human CD4+, CD8+ subsets of T lymphocytes, CD19– CD14– HLA-DR+ DCs and CD19– CD14+ monocytes could be detected at 16 weeks post-transplantation. The survival rate of mice in busulfan-untreated group (100%) was slightly higher than that in the busulfan-pretreated group (83%) ( P > 0.05). However, the differentiation efficiency of CD133+ stem cells in busulfan-pretreated group was significantly higher than that in the untreated group ( P < 0.05). This data imply that CD133+ cells could be a good resource for a humanized mouse model, and the preconditioning of busulfan could be more conducive to accelerating the differentiation of human CD133+ cells in NOG mice by intra-bone marrow injection.