Dynamics of human prothymocytes and xenogeneic thymopoiesis in hematopoietic stem cell-engrafted nonobese diabetic-SCID/IL-2rγnull mice.

To model the developmental pattern of human prothymocytes and thymopoiesis, we used NOD-scid/γc(-/-) mice grafted with human umbilical cord blood CD34(+) hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs). Human prothymocytes developed in the murine bone marrow (BM) from multipotent CD34(++)CD38(lo)lineage(-) HPCs to CD34(++)CD7(+)CD2(-) pro-T1 cells that progressed in a Notch-dependent manner to CD34(+)CD7(++)CD2(+) pro-T2 cells, which migrated to the thymus. BM prothymocyte numbers peaked 1 mo after graft, dropped at mo 2, and persisted at low levels thereafter, with only a few CD34(+)CD7(lo) prothymocytes with limited T potential being detected by mo 5. As a consequence, thymopoiesis in this xenogeneic setting began by weeks 4-6, peaked at mo 3, and decreased thenceforth. Analyzing mice grafted at 2, 4 or 8, mo of age showed that in an "older" BM, prothymocyte differentiation was perturbed and resulted in CD34(+)CD7(lo) prothymocytes with limited T potential. Whereas the early drop in BM thymopoietic activity was related to a Notch-independent loss of T potential by CD34(++)CD38(lo)lineage(-) HPCs, the later age-dependent production decline of prothymocytes was linked to a more complex mix of cell-intrinsic and microenvironmental defects. Accordingly, and contrasting with what was observed with umbilical cord blood HPCs, CD34(+) HPCs from human adult BM displayed only marginal thymopoietic activity when grafted into young 2-mo-old NOD-scid/γc(-/-) mice. These data demonstrate that the developmental pattern of BM prothymocytes during human late fetal and early postnatal life can be reproduced in humanized mice, and they suggest that onset of human thymus involution relates to decreased colonization by prothymocytes.