Supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (CA133085 to K.L.) and the American Cancer Society (RSG-09-209-01-TBG to K.L.).

1. Experimental Metastasis Mouse Model
<ol>
<li>On the day before the tumor cell injections, seed one T75 flask with up to 1 x 107 CMS4-Met cells in 10 mL of RPMI medium containing 10% serum to obtain fast-growing tumor cells. Incubate overnight at 37&deg;C.</li>
<li>On the day of the injection, remove the medium and rinse the cells once with PBS, then harvest the tumor cells with 0.05% trypsin-EDTA at 37&deg;C for 5 minutes. Stop the reaction with 10 mL of RPMI medium containing 10% serum. Transfer cells to a conical tube.</li>
<li>Spin down the cells at 1300 rpm in a Sorvall Legend RT centrifuge for 3 minutes at room temperature. Remove the supernatant. Resuspend the cells in 10 mL fresh 1X HBSS to wash, then spin down again and resuspend in the same manner.</li>
<li>Count the tumor cells on a hemocytometer. Dilute the cells in HBSS, so that the cells required for each injection are resuspended in a total volume of 100 &mu;L. </li>
<li>Warm the 6-8 week old BALB/c mice in a beaker immersed in warm water to dilate the tail vein. Place the mouse on a tail vein restrainer on the bench. Use a microsyringe to inject 100 &mu;L of tumor cells into the lateral tail vein. Use aseptic technique to avoid infection. After injection, apply slight pressure to the injection site until bleeding has stopped.</li>
<li>Return the mouse to the cage, and allow the tumor to grow to the desired stage.</li>
</ol>
2. Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte (CTL) Adoptive Transfer Immunotherapy
<ol>
<li>On the day of the transfer, pipette up and down to resuspend purified cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, or CTLs, prepared as described in the text. Transfer all of the cells from one plate to a 15 mL conical tube, not letting the volume exceed more than 2/3 of the tube.</li>
<li>Insert a sterile Pasteur pipette into the conical tube and lay Lymphocyte Separation Medium, or LSM, under the cells until the total volume nears 14 mL.</li>
<li>Be careful not to disturb the layers. Centrifuge at 2000 rpm for 20 minutes at room temperature. Do not use the brake to slow the rotor after spinning.</li>
<li>Transfer the CTLs to a new 15 mL conical tube. Add HBSS to a volume of approximately 10 mL to wash.</li>
<li>Count the cells. Spin down at 1300 rpm for 5 minutes at room temperature. Resuspend in HBSS to the required cell density for injections, keeping the total volume per injection at 100 &mu;L.</li>
<li>Use the same tail injection technique as seen earlier in this video to inject the CTLs into tumor-bearing mice.</li>
<li>Return the mouse to the cage, and allow the CTLs to interact with the tumor. Mice are usually sacrificed for analysis 14-21 days after CTL treatment.</li>
</ol>
3. Visualization of Lung Metastases 
<ol>
<li>To visualize lung metastases, place a sacrificed mouse on its back on a Styrofoam board. Pin the legs to ensure unobstructed access to the trachea. Spray the ventral side with 70% ethanol.</li>
<li>Starting from the mid-abdomen, use scissors to cut along the midline, through the ribcage, and up toward the salivary glands. Expose the trachea. Use forceps to remove tissues surrounding the trachea.</li>
<li>Thread a 200 &mu;L pipette tip underneath the trachea. Holding the tip with one hand, gently lift the trachea up and away from the body.</li>
<li>Rotate the platform 180&deg;. Use a 50 mL syringe to inject India Ink into the lungs via the trachea. Completely inflate the lungs with ink until you feel a strong resistance.</li>
<li>Use scissors to cut the trachea. Slide a pair of forceps under the lungs and lift them out of the mouse. Rinse the lungs briefly in a 1L beaker of water.</li>
<li>In a chemical fume hood, transfer the lungs to a glass scintillation vial containing 5 mL of Fekete's solution. The tumor tissue will emerge as white nodules on the black lungs after a few minutes. The tumors can now be counted and stored in Fekete's solution indefinitely.</li>
</ol>
4. Representative Metastases in Visualized Lungs
<ol>
<li>Here, lungs from mice that were injected with mammary carcinoma cell line 4T1 show white spots indicating tumors. Mice that were injected with 4T1 cells transfected with an IRF8 dominant-negative mutant K79E show the enhanced metastatic potential of tumor cells.</li>
<li>These images show a histological analysis of efficacy of CTL adoptive transfer immunotherapy. Tumor-bearing mice injected with saline showed multiple tumors 6 days later, indicated by yellow arrows (A). Mice injected with tumor-specific T cells, on the other hand, showed a reduction of tumors (B).</li>
<li>In the same experiment, India ink treatment gives a simpler way to measure the efficacy of CTL adoptive transfer. Here, the white tumor nodules on tumor-bearing lungs clearly distinguish them from lungs that have successfully undergone CTL adoptive transfer, and counting the nodules allows for a degree of quantitation not possible with histology.</li>
</ol>
5. Representative Results
 <img src="/files/ftp_upload/2077/2077fig1.jpg" alt="Figure 1" /> 
Figure 1. Experimental scheme for experimental tumor metastasis and CTL adaptive transfer immunotherapy mouse model. Red dots indicate tumor cells and green dots indicate CTLs.
 <img src="/files/ftp_upload/2077/2077fig2.jpg" alt="Figure 2" /> 
Figure 2. Disruption of IRF8 function enhanced the metastatic potential of tumor cells. Mouse mammary carcinoma cell line 4T1 was stably transfected with vector (4T1.Vector) or vector expressing an IRF8 dominant-negative mutant K79E (4T1.IRF8K79E) (15, 16). Tumor cells were injected i.v. into mouse lateral tail veins. Tumor-bearing lungs were inflated with India ink to visualize tumor nodules. Tumor nodules are easily seen as white spots on the black lung tissue background.
 <img src="/files/ftp_upload/2077/2077fig3.jpg" alt="Figure 3" /> 
Figure 3. Histological analysis of efficacy of CTL adoptive transfer immunotherapy. Mouse sarcoma cell line CMS4-Met was injected i.v. into mouse lateral tail veins. Three days later, saline (A) or tumor-specific T cells (B) were injected into the tumor-bearing mice. Lungs were analyzed six days after CTL treatment by conventional H&amp;E histological staining. Tumor nodules are indicated by arrows.
 <img src="/files/ftp_upload/2077/2077fig4.jpg" alt="Figure 4" /> 
Figure 4. Visualization of tumor nodules by India ink inflation. Mouse sarcoma cell line CMS4-Met was injected i.v. into mouse lateral tail veins. Three days later, saline (Control) or tumor-specific T cells (+CTL) were injected into the tumor-bearing mice. Lungs were analyzed fourteen days after CTL treatment. The white spots, which are tumor nodules, allow for easy quantification of the efficacy of CTL treatment.

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Mice were purchased from the National Cancer Institute (Friderick, MD) and housed in the Medical College of Georgia animal facility. Experiments and care/welfare were in agreement with federal regulations and an approved protocol by the Medical College of Georgia IACUC committee.

Solutions:
India Ink Solution (17):
<ol>
<li>	Pour 150 ml of distilled water into a 250 ml flask.</li>
<li>	Add 4 drops ammonium hydroxide to the distilled water.</li>
<li>	Add 30 ml India Ink stock (i.e. Sanford Black Magic Waterproof Drawing Ink 4465 Item 44011) to the ammonia and water mixture.</li>
<li>	Top off with distilled water to a volume of 200 ml. Solution is ready for injection.</li>
</ol>
Fekete's Solution (17):
Fekete's solution is used to bleach India ink-inflated tumor-bearing lungs to distinguish white tumor nodules from the black background of normal tissues.
<ol>
<li>	Add 350ml 95% EtOH to 1L glass bottle.</li>
<li>	Add 150ml distilled water</li>
<li>	Add 50ml formaldehyde</li>
<li>	Add 25ml glacial acidic acid</li>
</ol>

experimental metastasis and ctl adoptive transfer immunotherapy mouse model

Experimental metastasis mouse model is a simple and yet physiologically relevant metastasis model. The tumor cells are injected intravenously (i.v) into mouse tail veins and colonize in the lungs, thereby, resembling the last steps of tumor cell spontaneous metastasis: survival in the circulation, extravasation and colonization in the distal organs. From a therapeutic point of view, the experimental metastasis model is the simplest and ideal model since the target of therapies is often the end point of metastasis: established metastatic tumor in the distal organ. In this model, tumor cells are injected i.v into mouse tail veins and allowed to colonize and grow in the lungs. Tumor-specific CTLs are then injected i.v into the metastases-bearing mouse. The number and size of the lung metastases can be controlled by the number of tumor cells to be injected and the time of tumor growth. Therefore, various stages of metastasis, from minimal metastasis to extensive metastasis, can be modeled. Lung metastases are analyzed by inflation with ink, thus allowing easier visual observation and quantification.

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Experimental Metastasis and CTL Adoptive Transfer Immunotherapy Mouse Model

An experimental lung metastasis and CTL immunotherapy mouse model for analysis of tumor cells-T cell interaction in vivo.

Experimental metastasis mouse model is a simple and yet physiologically relevant metastasis model. The tumor cells are injected intravenously (i.v) into ...

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19.3K Views.  Medical College of Georgia. An experimental lung metastasis and CTL immunotherapy mouse model for analysis of tumor cells-T cell interaction in vivo.

Video: Experimental Metastasis and CTL Adoptive Transfer Immunotherapy Mouse Model

Overcoming Unresponsiveness in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) Resistant Mouse Strains by Adoptive Transfer and Antigenic Challenge

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) and has been used as an animal model for study of the human demyelinating disease, multiple sclerosis (MS). EAE is characterized by pathologic infiltration of mononuclear cells into the CNS and by clinical manifestation of paralytic disease. Similar to MS, EAE is also under genetic control in that certain mouse strains are susceptible to disease induction while others are resistant. Typically, C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice immunized with myelin basic protein (MBP) fail to develop paralytic signs. This unresponsiveness is certainly not due to defects in antigen processing or antigen presentation of MBP, as an experimental protocol described here had been used to induce severe EAE in C57BL/6 mice as well as other reputed resistant mouse strains. In addition, encephalitogenic T cell clones from C57BL/6 and Balb/c mice reactive to MBP had been successfully isolated and propagated.
The experimental protocol involves using a cellular adoptive transfer system in which MBP-primed (200 &mu;g/mouse) C57BL/6 donor lymph node cells are isolated and cultured for five days with the antigen to expand the pool of MBP-specific T cells. At the end of the culture period, 50 million viable cells are transferred into naive syngeneic recipients through the tail vein. Recipient mice so treated normally do not develop EAE, thus reaffirming their resistant status, and they can remain normal indefinitely. Ten days post cell transfer, recipient mice are challenged with complete Freund adjuvant (CFA)-emulsified MBP in four sites in the flanks. Severe EAE starts to develop in these mice ten to fourteen days after challenge. Results showed that the induction of disease was antigenic specific as challenge with irrelevant antigens did not induce clinical signs of disease. Significantly, a titration of the antigen dose used to challenge the recipient mice showed that it could be as low as 5 &mu;g/mouse. In addition, a kinetic study of the timing of antigenic challenge showed that challenge to induce disease was effective as early as 5 days post antigenic challenge and as long as over 445 days post antigenic challenge. These data strongly point toward the involvement of a "long-lived" T cell population in maintaining unresponsiveness. The involvement of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in this system is not defined.

Overcoming Unresponsiveness in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis EAE Resistant Mouse Strains by Adoptive Transfer and Antigenic Challenge

Certain mouse strains are able to resist induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) with myelin basic protein. Described here is a simple immunization protocol that reverses the unresponsiveness and induces paralytic disease in several typical EAE resistant mouse stains.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) and has been used as an animal model for ...

Accelerated Type 1 Diabetes Induction in Mice by Adoptive Transfer of Diabetogenic CD4+ T Cells

The nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse spontaneously develops autoimmune diabetes after 12 weeks of age and is the most extensively studied animal model of human Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Cell transfer studies in irradiated recipient mice have established that T cells are pivotal in T1D pathogenesis in this model. We describe herein a simple method to rapidly induce T1D by adoptive transfer of purified, primary CD4+ T cells from pre-diabetic NOD mice transgenic for the islet-specific T cell receptor (TCR) BDC2.5 into NOD.SCID recipient mice. The major advantages of this technique are that isolation and adoptive transfer of diabetogenic T cells can be completed within the same day, irradiation of the recipients is not required, and a high incidence of T1D is elicited within 2 weeks after T cell transfer. Thus, studies of pathogenesis and therapeutic interventions in T1D can proceed at a faster rate than with methods that rely on heterogenous T cell populations or clones derived from diabetic NOD mice.

We provide a reproducible method to induce type 1 diabetes (T1D) in mice within two weeks by the adoptive transfer of islet antigen-specific, primary CD4+ T cells.

The nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse spontaneously develops autoimmune diabetes after 12 weeks of age and is the most extensively studied animal model of ...

Isolation, Purification and Labeling of Mouse Bone Marrow Neutrophils for Functional Studies and Adoptive Transfer Experiments

Neutrophils are critical effector cells of the innate immune system. They are rapidly recruited at sites of acute inflammation and exert protective or pathogenic effects depending on the inflammatory milieu. Nonetheless, despite the indispensable role of neutrophils in immunity, detailed understanding of the molecular factors that mediate neutrophils' effector and immunopathogenic effects in different infectious diseases and inflammatory conditions is still lacking, partly because of their short half life, the difficulties with handling of these cells and the lack of reliable experimental protocols for obtaining sufficient numbers of neutrophils for downstream functional studies and adoptive transfer experiments. Therefore, simple, fast, economical and reliable methods are highly desirable for harvesting sufficient numbers of mouse neutrophils for assessing functions such as phagocytosis, killing, cytokine production, degranulation and trafficking. To that end, we present a reproducible density gradient centrifugation-based protocol, which can be adapted in any laboratory to isolate large numbers of neutrophils from the bone marrow of mice with high purity and viability. Moreover, we present a simple protocol that uses CellTracker dyes to label the isolated neutrophils, which can then be adoptively transferred into recipient mice and tracked in several tissues for at least 4 hr post-transfer using flow cytometry. Using this approach, differential labeling of neutrophils from wild-type and gene-deficient mice with different CellTracker dyes can be successfully employed to perform competitive repopulation studies for evaluating the direct role of specific genes in trafficking of neutrophils from the blood into target tissues in vivo.

We describe a protocol for isolation and purification of neutrophils from mouse bone marrow by density gradient centrifugation and for neutrophil labeling using CellTracker dyes. This represents a simple, fast, reproducible and economical method for obtaining large numbers of neutrophils for downstream functional studies or adoptive transfer and tracking experiments.

Neutrophils are critical effector cells of the innate immune system. They are rapidly recruited at sites of acute inflammation and exert protective or ...

Intralymphatic Immunotherapy and Vaccination in Mice

Vaccines are typically injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly for stimulation of immune responses. The success of this requires efficient drainage of vaccine to lymph nodes where antigen presenting cells can interact with lymphocytes for generation of the wanted immune responses. The strength and the type of immune responses induced also depend on the density or frequency of interactions as well as the microenvironment, especially the content of cytokines. As only a minute fraction of peripherally injected vaccines reaches the lymph nodes, vaccinations of mice and humans were performed by direct injection of vaccine into inguinal lymph nodes, i.e.&#160;intralymphatic injection. In man, the procedure is guided by ultrasound. In mice, a small (5-10 mm) incision is made in the inguinal region of anesthetized animals, the lymph node is localized and immobilized with forceps, and a volume of 10-20 &#956;l of the vaccine is injected under visual control. The incision is closed with a single stitch using surgical sutures. Mice were vaccinated with plasmid DNA, RNA, peptide, protein, particles, and bacteria as well as adjuvants, and strong improvement of immune responses against all type of vaccines was observed. The intralymphatic method of vaccination is especially appropriate in situations where conventional vaccination produces insufficient immunity or where the amount of available vaccine is limited.

Prophylactic and therapeutic vaccination often fails to stimulate strong immune responses due to week drainage of the vaccine to lymph nodes and consequently poor involvement of immune cells. By direct injection of vaccine to lymph nodes, so-called intralymphatic injection, vaccine efficacy can be strongly improved and vaccine doses can be reduced.

Vaccines are typically injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly for stimulation of immune responses. The success of this requires efficient drainage of ...

Assessing the Development of Murine Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in Peyer's Patches Using Adoptive Transfer of Hematopoietic Progenitors

This protocol details a method to analyze the ability of purified hematopoietic progenitors to generate plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) in intestinal Peyer&#39;s patch (PP). Common dendritic cell progenitors (CDPs, lin- c-kitlo CD115+ Flt3+) were purified from the bone marrow of C57BL6 mice by FACS and transferred to recipient mice that lack a significant pDC population in PP; in this case, Ifnar-/- mice were used as the transfer recipients. In some mice, overexpression of the dendritic cell growth factor Flt3 ligand (Flt3L) was enforced prior to adoptive transfer of CDPs, using hydrodynamic gene transfer (HGT) of Flt3L-encoding plasmid. Flt3L overexpression expands DC populations originating from transferred (or endogenous) hematopoietic progenitors. At 7-10 days after progenitor transfer, pDCs that arise from the adoptively transferred progenitors were distinguished from recipient cells on the basis of CD45 marker expression, with pDCs from transferred CDPs being CD45.1+ and recipients being CD45.2+. The ability of transferred CDPs to contribute to the pDC population in PP and to respond to Flt3L was evaluated by flow cytometry of PP single cell suspensions from recipient mice. This method may be used to test whether other progenitor populations are capable of generating PP pDCs. In addition, this approach could be used to examine the role of factors that are predicted to affect pDC development in PP, by transferring progenitor subsets with an appropriate knockdown, knockout or overexpression of the putative developmental factor and/or by manipulating circulating cytokines via HGT. This method may also allow analysis of how PP pDCs affect the frequency or function of other immune subsets in PPs. A unique feature of this method is the use of Ifnar-/- mice, which show severely depleted PP pDCs relative to wild type animals, thus allowing reconstitution of PP pDCs in the absence of confounding effects from lethal irradiation.

This protocol describes experimental procedures to assess the differentiation of plasmacytoid dendritic cells in Peyer&#8217;s patch from common dendritic cell progenitors, using techniques involving FACS-mediated cell isolation, hydrodynamic gene transfer, and flow analysis of immune subsets in Peyer&#8217;s patch.

This protocol details a method to analyze the ability of purified hematopoietic progenitors to generate plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) in intestinal ...

Generation of CAR T Cells for Adoptive Therapy in the Context of Glioblastoma Standard of Care

Adoptive T cell immunotherapy offers a promising strategy for specifically targeting and eliminating malignant gliomas. T cells can be engineered ex vivo to express chimeric antigen receptors specific for glioma antigens (CAR T cells). The expansion and function of adoptively transferred CAR T cells can be potentiated by the lymphodepletive and tumoricidal effects of standard of care chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We describe a method for generating CAR T cells targeting EGFRvIII, a glioma-specific antigen, and evaluating their efficacy when combined with a murine model of glioblastoma standard of care. T cells are engineered by transduction with a retroviral vector containing the anti-EGFRvIII CAR gene. Tumor-bearing animals are subjected to host conditioning by a course of temozolomide and whole brain irradiation at dose regimens designed to model clinical standard of care. CAR T cells are then delivered intravenously to primed hosts. This method can be used to evaluate the antitumor efficacy of CAR T cells in the context of standard of care.

The lymphodepletive and immunomodulatory effects of chemotherapy and radiation standard of care can be leveraged to enhance the antitumor efficacy of T cell immunotherapy. We outline a method for generating EGFRvIII-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and administering them in the context of glioblastoma standard of care.

Adoptive T cell immunotherapy offers a promising strategy for specifically targeting and eliminating malignant gliomas. T cells can be engineered ex vivo ...

Induction of Murine Intestinal Inflammation by Adoptive Transfer of Effector CD4+CD45RBhigh T Cells into Immunodeficient Mice

There are many different animal models available for studying the pathogenesis of human inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), each with its own advantages and disadvantages. We describe here an experimental colitis model that is initiated by adoptive transfer of syngeneic splenic CD4+CD45RBhigh T cells into T and B cell deficient recipient mice. The CD4+CD45RBhigh T cell population that largely consists of na&#239;ve effector cells is capable of inducing chronic intestinal inflammation, closely resembling key aspects of human IBD. This method can be manipulated to study aspects of disease onset and progression. Additionally it can be used to study the function of innate, adaptive, and regulatory immune cell populations, and the role of environmental exposures, i.e., the microbiota, in intestinal inflammation. In this article we illustrate the methodology for inducing colitis with a step-by-step protocol. This includes a video demonstration of key technical aspects required to successfully develop this murine model of experimental colitis for research purposes.

Induction of Murine Intestinal Inflammation by Adoptive Transfer of Effector CD4+CD45RBhigh T Cells into Immunodeficient Mice

Here, we present a protocol to induce colonic inflammation in mice by adoptive transfer of syngeneic CD4+CD45RBhigh T cells into T and B cell deficient recipients. Clinical and histopathological features mimic human inflammatory bowel diseases. This method allows the study of the initiation of colonic inflammation and progression of disease.

There are many different animal models available for studying the pathogenesis of human inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), each with its own advantages ...

Stereotactic Adoptive Transfer of Cytotoxic Immune Cells in Murine Models of Orthotopic Human Glioblastoma Multiforme Xenografts

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most frequent and aggressive primary brain cancer in adults, is generally associated with a poor prognosis, and scarce efficient therapies have been proposed over the last decade. Among the promising candidates for designing novel therapeutic strategies, cellular immunotherapies have been targeted to eliminate highly invasive and chemo-radioresistant tumor cells, likely involved in a rapid and fatal relapse of this cancer. Thus, administration(s) of allogeneic GBM-reactive immune cell effectors, such as human V&#978;9V&#948;2 T lymphocytes, in the vicinity of the tumor would represents a unique opportunity to deliver efficient and highly concentrated therapeutic agents directly into the site of brain malignancies. Here, we present a protocol for the preparation and the stereotaxic administration of allogeneic human lymphocytes in immunodeficient mice carrying orthotopic human primary brain tumors. This study provides a preclinical proof-of-concept for both the feasibility and the antitumor efficacy of these cellular immunotherapies that rely on stereotactic injections of allogeneic human lymphocytes within intrabrain tumor beds.

Here, we present a protocol for the preparation and the stereotaxic administration of allogeneic human lymphocytes in immunodeficient mice carrying orthotopic human primary brain tumors. This study provides a proof-of-concept for both the feasibility and the antitumor efficacy of intrabrain-delivered cellular immunotherapies.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most frequent and aggressive primary brain cancer in adults, is generally associated with a poor prognosis, and scarce ...

A Controlled Mouse Model for Neonatal Polymicrobial Sepsis

Neonatal sepsis remains a global burden. A preclinical model to screen effective prophylactic or therapeutic interventions is needed. Neonatal mouse polymicrobial sepsis can be induced by injecting cecal slurry intraperitoneally into day of life 7 mice and monitoring them for the following week. Presented here are the detailed steps necessary for the implementation of this neonatal sepsis model. This includes making a homogeneous cecal slurry stock, diluting it to a weight- and litter-adjusted dose, an outline of the monitoring schedule, and a definition of observed health categories used to define humane endpoints. The generation of a homogeneous cecal slurry stock from pooled donors allows for the administration into many litters over time, reducing the variation between donors, and preventing the use of potentially toxic glycerol. The monitoring strategy used allows for the anticipation of survival outcome and the identification of mice that would later progress to death, allowing for an earlier identification of the humane endpoint. Two main behavioral features are used to define the health scores, namely, the ability of the neonatal mice to right themselves when placed on their back and their level of mobility. These criteria could potentially be applied to address humane endpoints in other studies of neonatal disease in mice, as long as a pilot study is performed to confirm accuracy. In conclusion, this approach provides a standardized method to model newborn sepsis in mice, while providing resources to assess animal welfare used to define early humane endpoints for challenged animals.

This protocol provides the necessary steps to establish and evaluate neonatal sepsis in 7-day-old mice.

Neonatal sepsis remains a global burden. A preclinical model to screen effective prophylactic or therapeutic interventions is needed. Neonatal mouse ...

Establishment of the Dual Humanized TK-NOG Mouse Model for HIV-associated Liver Pathogenesis

Despite the increased life expectancy of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), liver disease has emerged as a common cause of their morbidity. The liver immunopathology caused by HIV-1 remains elusive. Small xenograft animal models with human hepatocytes and human immune system can recapitulate the human biology of the disease&#39;s pathogenesis. Herein, a protocol is described to establish a dual humanized mouse model through human hepatocytes and CD34+ hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) transplantation, to study liver immunopathology as observed in HIV-infected patients. To achieve dual reconstitution, male TK-NOG (NOD.Cg-Prkdcscid Il2rgtm1Sug Tg(Alb-TK)7-2/ShiJic) mice are intraperitoneally injected with ganciclovir (GCV) doses to eliminate mouse transgenic liver cells, and with treosulfan for nonmyeloablative conditioning, both of which facilitate human hepatocyte (HEP) engraftment and human immune system (HIS) development. Human albumin (ALB) levels are evaluated for liver engraftment, and the presence of human immune cells in blood detected by flow cytometry confirms the establishment of human immune system. The model developed using the protocol described here resembles multiple components of liver damage from HIV-1 infection. Its establishment could prove to be essential for studies of hepatitis virus co-infection and for the evaluation of antiviral and antiretroviral drugs.

This protocol provides a reliable method to establish humanized mice with both human immune system and liver cells. Dual reconstituted immunodeficient mice achieved via intrasplenic injection of human hepatocytes and CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells are susceptible to human immunodeficiency virus-1 infection and recapitulate liver damage as observed in HIV-infected patients.

Despite the increased life expectancy of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1), liver disease has emerged as a common cause of ...