Constructing a Humanized Mouse Model with Engineered Immunity against HIV

Prepare an anesthetized severely immunocompromised recipient mouse.

Make an incision to expose the kidney and create a hole in the kidney capsule.

Take an implant needle containing human fetal thymus tissue and fetal liver-derived cells suspended in a gelatinous protein mixture.

The cells include engineered hematopoietic stem cells, or HSCs, expressing chimeric antigen receptors, or CARs, targeted against HIV.

Implant the cell suspension and thymus tissue under the capsule, then close the incision.

Next, retro-orbitally inject the CAR-expressing HSCs and allow the mouse to recover.

In the kidney, the gelatinous protein mixture polymerizes into a matrix, retaining the HSCs at the implantation site.

The matrix HSCs migrate to the thymus, differentiating into functional human T cells.

Meanwhile, retro-orbitally injected HSCs reach the bone marrow and differentiate into functional human B cells, monocytes, and NK cells.

The mouse model with a human immune system against HIV is now ready.