ENGRAFTMENT OF HUMAN SYNOVIUM INTO SEVERE COMBINED IMMUNE-DEFICIENT MICE - MIGRATION OF HUMAN PERIPHERAL-BLOOD T-CELLS TO ENGRAFTED HUMAN SYNOVIUM AND TO MOUSE LYMPH-NODES

To determine the feasibility of using the C.B-17 scid/scid (severe com bined immune deficient, SCID) mouse as a recipient of human synovial x enografts, we have engrafted human synovium under the renal capsule of SCID mice, and determined synovial graft survival and histologic char acteristics 4 to 7 wk after tissue implantation. Both normal and infla mmatory synovial tissue grew well in SCID mice and maintained histolog ic and phenotypic components of the fresh synovial tissue before impla ntation. However, the number of T cells in synovial grafts decreased a fter implantation. To determine whether leukocytes could migrate to hu man synovial xenografts, either allogeneic or autologous PBMC were inj ected in the peritoneum of SCID mice bearing synovial xenografts. We f ound that 7 days after i.p. injection of autologous or allogeneic PBMC , injected T cells had selectively migrated to human synovial grafts a nd to SCID mouse lymph nodes. Our data demonstrate that normal and inf lammatory human synovial tissues will grow in SCID mice and serve as r ecipients for autologous and allogeneic peripheral blood human T cells injected i.p. into engrafted mice.