BONE-MARROW CULTURE AND TRANSDUCTION OF STEM-CELLS IN A MINIATURE SWINE MODEL

Recombinant retroviral vectors, engineered to express the beta-chain g ene of swine major histocompatibility complex class II DR, were develo ped for the genetic modification of swine hematopoietic stem cells (HS C). The expression of these vectors in swine bone marrow has been stud ied both in culture and after bone marrow transplantation. In addition , myeloid progenitor colony assays were performed on swine umbilical c ord blood as part of a study to identify alternative sources of HSC fo r somatic gene transfer, revealing the presence of both granulocyte ma crophage colony forming-units (CFU-GM) and CFU-Mix at frequencies comp arable to those found in juvenile swine bone marrow.