Go to JCI Insight
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Publication alerts by email
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Contact
  • Clinical Research and Public Health
  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • By specialty
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Immunology
    • Metabolism
    • Nephrology
    • Neuroscience
    • Oncology
    • Pulmonology
    • Vascular biology
    • All ...
  • Videos
    • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
    • Video Abstracts
  • Reviews
    • View all reviews ...
    • Clinical innovation and scientific progress in GLP-1 medicine (Nov 2025)
    • Pancreatic Cancer (Jul 2025)
    • Complement Biology and Therapeutics (May 2025)
    • Evolving insights into MASLD and MASH pathogenesis and treatment (Apr 2025)
    • Microbiome in Health and Disease (Feb 2025)
    • Substance Use Disorders (Oct 2024)
    • Clonal Hematopoiesis (Oct 2024)
    • View all review series ...
  • Viewpoint
  • Collections
    • In-Press Preview
    • Clinical Research and Public Health
    • Research Letters
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Editorials
    • Commentaries
    • Editor's notes
    • Reviews
    • Viewpoints
    • 100th anniversary
    • Top read articles

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Specialties
  • Reviews
  • Review series
  • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • Video Abstracts
  • In-Press Preview
  • Clinical Research and Public Health
  • Research Letters
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Editorials
  • Commentaries
  • Editor's notes
  • Reviews
  • Viewpoints
  • 100th anniversary
  • Top read articles
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Publication ethics
  • Publication alerts by email
  • Advertising
  • Job board
  • Contact
Versatile humanized niche model enables study of normal and malignant human hematopoiesis
Ander Abarrategi, Katie Foster, Ashley Hamilton, Syed A. Mian, Diana Passaro, John Gribben, Ghulam Mufti, Dominique Bonnet
Ander Abarrategi, Katie Foster, Ashley Hamilton, Syed A. Mian, Diana Passaro, John Gribben, Ghulam Mufti, Dominique Bonnet
View: Text | PDF
Brief Report Hematology

Versatile humanized niche model enables study of normal and malignant human hematopoiesis

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

The BM niche comprises a tightly controlled microenvironment formed by specific tissue and cells that regulates the behavior of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Here, we have provided a 3D model that is tunable in different BM niche components and useful, both in vitro and in vivo, for studying the maintenance of normal and malignant hematopoiesis. Using scaffolds, we tested the capacity of different stromal cell types to support human HSCs. Scaffolds coated with human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs) proved to be superior in terms of HSC engraftment and long-term maintenance when implanted in vivo. Moreover, we found that hMSC-coated scaffolds can be modulated to form humanized bone tissue, which was also able to support human HSC engraftment. Importantly, hMSC-coated humanized scaffolds were able to support the growth of leukemia patient cells in vivo, including the growth of samples that would not engraft the BM of immunodeficient mice. These results demonstrate that an s.c. implantation approach in a 3D carrier scaffold seeded with stromal cells is an effective in vivo niche model for studying human hematopoiesis. The various niche components of this model can be changed depending on the context to improve the engraftment of nonengrafting acute myeloid leukemia (AML) samples.

Authors

Ander Abarrategi, Katie Foster, Ashley Hamilton, Syed A. Mian, Diana Passaro, John Gribben, Ghulam Mufti, Dominique Bonnet

×

Figure 3

AML engraftment in different implantation models.

Options: View larger image (or click on image) Download as PowerPoint
AML engraftment in different implantation models.
(A) Percentage of hCD4...
(A) Percentage of hCD45+hCD33+ cells recovered from each xenograft implantation model compared with conventional i.v. injection in NSG mice 12 weeks after transplant for patients classified as high engrafters (≥ 1% engraftment), low engrafters (between 1 to 0.1%), and nonengrafters (< 0.1%) using conventional i.v. injection. i.v., i.v. injection; SC, scaffold-implantation; BSC, bone scaffold-implantation. Comparison between i.v. and SC or BSC was applied using Dunnett’s test. *P < 0.05. Each point represents 1 mouse implanted with 2 to 6 scaffolds. For each patient, 2 to 8 mice were transplanted per condition. (B) Graphical representation of gene mutations detected in CD33+ pretransplant and hCD45+hCD33+ postxenografted cells. Mutations are grouped in transcription factor and cell signaling (TF/CS) genes, epigenetic modifier (EM) genes, and splicing factor (SF) genes. NA, sample not available for testing; NE, no engraftment was detected in mice; NT, not tested. Red boxes, variant allele frequencies comparable to day 0; pink boxes, ≤ 2-fold day 0; gray boxes, not detected. Variant allele frequencies for xenotransplanted samples are the average between ≥1, where applicable. (C) Percentage of hCD45+ cells recovered from secondary recipients. Primary cells from i.v. mice were transplanted i.v. into secondary mice (i.v.-i.v.). Primary cells from SC were transplanted i.v. (SC-i.v.) or implanted into scaffold (SC-SC) in secondary mice. Primary cells from BSC were implanted into BSC in secondary mice (BSC-BSC). Each point represents 1 mouse. For each patient, 2 to 4 mice were transplanted per condition.

Copyright © 2025 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

Sign up for email alerts