Autologously Humanized Mice for Immune‐Oncologic Studies

Abstract

With the rapid approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors for lung, melanoma, breast, genitourinary, and hematological malignancies, the hematopoietic cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) are now considered an important, if not essential, consideration for cancer scientists. In many instances, syngeneic murine models have not been highly predictive for responsiveness in clinical trials. Our limited understanding of the human TME have, therefore, precluded a rational translation of immunotherapeutic combinations. This has led to the adoption of hematopoietic humanized murine models for the study of human tumor immunology in vivo. However, concerns about chimerism rates, HLA mismatching, and incomplete reconstitution of the innate immune system have driven a quest for improvements in these allogeneic humanized murine systems. Presented in this article is a completely autologous xenotransplantation method for reconstituting the human tumor immune microenvironment in vivo without the use of a patient's peripheral blood which is known to be associated with low engraftment rates. With this new approach, the current limitations of allogeneic humanized models are avoided by using matched bone marrow cells (BMCs) and derived tumor xenoplants (PDXs) from solid tumors in cancer patients. This autologous system provides a platform for studying endogenous lymphocytic and myeloid cell infiltration into the human tumor in vivo. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
May 29, 2020
Source ID
10.1002/cpph.76

Entities

People

  • Juan Fu
  • Young J Kim

Organizations

  • Bloomberg L.P.
  • Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • National Science Foundation
  • Vanderbilt University

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Medicine

Readers

  • Immunology
  • Oncology
  • Systems Analysis and Design