High diversity of the immune repertoire in humanized NOD.SCID.gamma c-/- mice

Eur J Immunol. 2009 Aug;39(8):2136-45. doi: 10.1002/eji.200939480.

Abstract

The diversity of the human immune repertoire and how it relates to a functional immune response has not yet been studied in detail in humanized NOD.SCID.gammac(-/-) immunodeficient mice. Here, we used a multiplex PCR on genomic DNA to quantify the combinatorial diversity of all possible V-J rearrangements at the TCR-beta chain and heavy chain Ig locus. We first show that the combinatorial diversity of the TCR-beta chain generated in the thymus was well preserved in the periphery, suggesting that human T cells were not vastly activated in mice, in agreement with phenotypic studies. We then show that the combinatorial diversity in NOD.SCID.gammac(-/-) mice reached 100% of human reference samples for both the TCR and the heavy chain of Ig. To document the functionality of this repertoire, we show that a detectable but weak HLA-restricted cellular immune response could be elicited in reconstituted mice after immunization with an adenoviral vector expressing HCV envelope glycoproteins. Altogether, our results suggest that humanized mice express a diversified repertoire and are able to mount antigen-specific immune responses.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Newborn
  • Clone Cells
  • Female
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Gene Rearrangement, beta-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor*
  • Hepacivirus / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Cellular / immunology
  • Immunization / methods
  • Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / genetics
  • Immunophenotyping
  • Leukocyte Common Antigens / metabolism
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred NOD
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Mice, SCID
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / genetics*
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / genetics*
  • T-Lymphocytes / cytology
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocytes / metabolism

Substances

  • Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta
  • Leukocyte Common Antigens