Antileukemic effect of interleukin-7-transduced bone marrow stromal cells in mice following allogeneic T-cell-depleted bone marrow transplantation.

Impaired immune reconstitution following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) remains a major obstacle to its clinical application. In this study, interleukin (IL)-7-transduced bone marrow stromal cells (MSC-IL7, 1 x 10(6)/mouse) were transfused into lethally irradiated C57BL/6 recipient mice. By day 40 after transplantation, the recipient mice were challenged with the lymphoma cell line EL4. MSC-IL7 co-transplantation protected recipient mice from leukemic mortality (MST >120 days after BMT vs mean survival time (MST) 70 days in the PBS group) It enhance the PFC count and DTH responses of recipients after transplantation. In conclusion, MSC mediated IL-7 gene therapy and may be a more feasible strategy to restore immune function following allo-TCD-BMT.