Studies of lymphocyte reconstitution in a humanized mouse model reveal a requirement of T cells for human B cell maturation

J Immunol. 2013 Mar 1;190(5):2090-101. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1202810. Epub 2013 Jan 18.

Abstract

The hematopoietic humanized mouse (hu-mouse) model is a powerful resource to study and manipulate the human immune system. However, a major and recurrent issue with this model has been the poor maturation of B cells that fail to progress beyond the transitional B cell stage. Of interest, a similar problem has been reported in transplant patients who receive cord blood stem cells. In this study, we characterize the development of human B and T cells in the lymph nodes (LNs) and spleen of BALB/c-Rag2(null)Il2rγ(null) hu-mice. We find a dominant population of immature B cells in the blood and spleen early, followed by a population of human T cells, coincident with the detection of LNs. Notably, in older mice we observe a major population of mature B cells in LNs and in the spleens of mice with higher T cell frequencies. Moreover, we demonstrate that T cells are necessary for B cell maturation, as introduction of autologous human T cells expedites the appearance of mature B cells, whereas in vivo depletion of T cells retards B cell maturation. The presence of the mature B cell population correlates with enhanced IgG and Ag-specific responses to both T cell-dependent and T cell-independent challenges, indicating their functionality. These findings enhance our understanding of human B cell development, provide increased details of the reconstitution dynamics of hu-mice, and validate the use of this animal model to study mechanisms and treatments for the similar delay of functional B cells associated with cord blood transplantations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adoptive Transfer
  • Age Factors
  • Animals
  • B-Lymphocytes / cytology*
  • B-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • Bone Marrow / immunology
  • Cell Communication / immunology
  • Cell Differentiation / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G / immunology
  • Lymph Nodes / cytology*
  • Lymph Nodes / immunology
  • Lymphocyte Count
  • Lymphocyte Depletion
  • Mice
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Models, Animal
  • Spleen / cytology*
  • Spleen / immunology
  • T-Lymphocytes / cytology*
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • T-Lymphocytes / transplantation

Substances

  • Immunoglobulin G