Induction of human gamma delta T cells in myasthenia gravis thymus transplanted SCID mice
Iwata, T.; Inoue, K.; Kato, T.; Nishida, T.; Kinoshita, H.
Osaka City Medical Journal 45(2): 109-121
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0030-6096 PMID: 10730077 Document Number: 500555
TCR-gamma delta cells develop by extrathymic differentiation and might play an important role in thymectomy-resistant myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. In this study, we show development of human TCR-gamma delta cells in periphery of SCID mice by transplantation of human MG thymus or thymoma. Three pieces of thymoma tissue and four of non-thymoma thymic tissues were obtained from MG patients by thymectomy. Each tissue was transplanted into 5-6 weeks old female SCID mice by intraperitoneal injection or surgical implantation. Rate of human TCR-positive cell development and its subtypes (TCR-alpha beta, TCR-gamma delta) were measured in the mice blood at one, three, and six weeks after the transplantation. Human TCR-positive cells were detected three weeks after transplantation. Rate of TCR-gamma delta T cell development got higher in thymoma transplanted group than in non-thymoma transplanted group. We could successfully develop human mature T cells in SCID mice by transplantation of human MG thymus or thymoma.