Regenerative Medicine Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Room 361, Steven Spielberg Building, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
Biomed Res Int. 2013;2013:740892. doi: 10.1155/2013/740892. Epub 2013 Feb 14.
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are unique in their capacity to give rise to all mature cells of the immune system. For years, HSC transplantation has been used for treatment of genetic and neoplastic diseases of the hematopoietic and immune systems. The sourcing of HSCs from human umbilical cord blood has salient advantages over isolation from mobilized peripheral blood. However, poor sample yield has prompted development of methodologies to expand HSCs ex vivo. Cytokines, trophic factors, and small molecules have been variously used to promote survival and proliferation of HSCs in culture, whilst strategies to lower the concentration of inhibitors in the culture media have recently been applied to promote HSC expansion. In this paper, we outline strategies to expand HSCs in vitro, and to improve engraftment and reconstitution of human immune systems in immunocompromised mice. To the extent that these "humanized" mice are representative of the endogenous human immune system, they will be invaluable tools for both basic science and translational medicine.
造血干细胞（HSCs）具有独特的能力，可以产生免疫系统的所有成熟细胞。多年来，HSC 移植已被用于治疗造血系统和免疫系统的遗传和肿瘤疾病。与从动员的外周血中分离相比，从人类脐带血中获取 HSCs 具有明显的优势。然而，由于样本产量低，促使人们开发了体外扩增 HSCs 的方法。细胞因子、营养因子和小分子已被用于各种方法以促进 HSCs 在培养中的存活和增殖，而最近应用降低培养物中抑制剂浓度的策略来促进 HSC 的扩增。在本文中，我们概述了体外扩增 HSCs 的策略，并改善免疫抑制小鼠中人类免疫系统的植入和重建。在这些“人源化”小鼠在多大程度上代表内源性人类免疫系统方面，它们将是基础科学和转化医学的宝贵工具。
