Adapted NOD/SCID model supports development of phenotypically and functionally mature T cells from human umbilical cord blood CD34(+) cells.

The NOD-LtSZ scid/scid (NOD/SCID) repopulation assay is the criterion for the study of self-renewal and multilineage differentiation of human hematopoietic stem cells. An important shortcoming of this model is the reported absence of T-cell development. We studied this aspect of the model and investigated how it could be optimized to support T-cell development. Occasionally, low-grade thymic engraftment was observed in NOD/SCID mice or Rag2(-/-)gamma(c)(-/-) mice. In contrast, the treatment of NOD/SCID mice with a monoclonal antibody against the murine interleukin-2R beta, (IL-2R beta) known to decrease natural killer cell activity, resulted in human thymopoiesis in up to 60% of the mice. T-cell development was phenotypically normal and resulted in polyclonal, mature, and functional CD1(-) TCR alpha beta (+) CD4(+) or CD8(+) single-positive T cells. In mice with ongoing thymopoiesis, peripheral T cells were observed. TREC analysis showed that T cells with a naive phenotype (CD45RA(+)) emerged from the thymus. In approximately half of these mice, the peripheral T cells included a pauciclonal outgrowth of CD45RO(+) cells. These data suggest that all elements of a functional immune system were present in these animals.