Enhanced differentiation of functional human T cells in NSGW41 mice with tissue-specific expression of human interleukin-7.

Humanized mouse models have become increasingly valuable tools to study human hematopoiesis and infectious diseases. However, human T-cell differentiation remains inefficient. We generated mice expressing human interleukin-7 (IL-7), a critical growth and survival factor for T cells, under the control of murine IL-7 regulatory elements.

Stem cell donor registry activities during the COVID-19 pandemic: a field report by DKMS.

The COVID-19 pandemic has serious implications also for patients with other diseases. Here, we describe the effects of the pandemic on unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donation and transplantation from the perspective of DKMS, a large international donor registry. Especially, we cover the development of PBSC and bone marrow collection figures, donor management including Health and Availability Check (HAC), transport and cryopreservation of stem cell products, donor recruitment and business continuity measures.

Improved Human Erythropoiesis and Platelet Formation in Humanized NSGW41 Mice.

Human erythro-megakaryopoiesis does not occur in humanized mouse models, preventing the in vivo analysis of human hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) differentiation into these lineages in a surrogate host. Here we show that stably engrafted KIT-deficient NOD/SCID Il2rgKit (NSGW41) mice support much improved human erythropoiesis and platelet formation compared with irradiated NSG recipients. Considerable numbers of human erythroblasts and mature thrombocytes are present in the bone marrow and blood, respectively.

CCND1-CDK4-mediated cell cycle progression provides a competitive advantage for human hematopoietic stem cells in vivo.

Maintenance of stem cell properties is associated with reduced proliferation. However, in mouse hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), loss of quiescence results in a wide range of phenotypes, ranging from functional failure to extensive self-renewal. It remains unknown whether the function of human HSCs is controlled by the kinetics of cell cycle progression.

Banking cord blood stem cells: attitude and knowledge of pregnant women in five European countries.

Background: This study explores pregnant women's awareness of cord blood stem cells and their attitude regarding banking options in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK.

Study Design And Methods: Questionnaires were distributed in six maternities. This anonymous and self-completed questionnaire included 29 multiple-choice questions based on: 1) sociodemographic factors, 2) awareness and access to information about cord blood banking, 3) banking option preferences, and 4) donating cord blood units (CBUs) to research.

Superior mobilisation of haematopoietic progenitor cells with glycosylated G-CSF in male but not female unrelated stem cell donors.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) effectively mobilises haematopoietic stem cells to the peripheral blood. It is unclear whether the mobilisation of stem cells with lenograstim (glycosylated G-CSF) or filgrastim (non-glycosylated G-CSF) leads to a higher cell number of collected engraft able progenitor cells. Thus, we investigated harvesting efficiency of the licensed G-CSF preparations in mobilising peripheral stem cells in a randomised study.