Investigation of immunological approaches to enhance engraftment in a 1 Gy TBI canine hematopoietic stem cell transplantation model.

Objective: Stable mixed hematopoietic chimerism can be established in a canine stem cell transplantation model using a conditioning consisting of total body irradiation (TBI; 2 Gy) and postgrafting immunosuppression with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and cyclosporin (CSA). Reduction of TBI had resulted previously in graft rejection in this model. We investigated whether postgrafting stimulation of donor T cells against recipient's hematopoietic antigens or graft augmentation with donor monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDC) promote engraftment following 1 Gy TBI.