The Preconditioning of Busulfan Promotes Efficiency of Human CD133+ Cells Engraftment in NOD Shi-SCID IL2Rγcnull (NOG) Mice via Intra-Bone Marrow Injection

Human CD133(+) stem cells were injected into the bone marrow cavity of NOG (NOD Shi-SCID IL2Rγc(null)) mice with or without preconditioning of busulfan in order to assess the efficiency of human CD133(+) cells engraftment. Peripheral blood from CD133(+)-engrafted NOG mice was analyzed by flow cytometry. The results showed that human CD19(+) B lymphocytes could be detected at 4 weeks post-transplantation, and human CD4(+), CD8(+) subsets of T lymphocytes, CD19(–) CD14(–) HLA-DR(+) DCs and CD19(–) CD14(+) monocytes could be detected at 16 weeks post-transplantation. The survival rate of mice in busulfan-untreated group (100%) was slightly higher than that in the busulfan-pretreated group (83%) (P > 0.05). However, the differentiation efficiency of CD133(+) stem cells in busulfan-pretreated group was significantly higher than that in the untreated group (P < 0.05). This data imply that CD133(+) cells could be a good resource for a humanized mouse model, and the preconditioning of busulfan could be more conducive to accelerating the differentiation of human CD133(+) cells in NOG mice by intra-bone marrow injection.