Animal Models for Preclinical Development of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

Since its inception in the 1950s, hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has become a highly effective clinical treatment for malignant and nonmalignant hematological disorders. This milestone in cancer therapy was only possible through decades of intensive research using murine and canine animal models that overcame what appeared in the early days to be insurmountable obstacles. Conditioning protocols for tumor ablation and immunosuppression of the recipient using irradiation and chemotherapeutic drugs were developed in mouse and dog models as well as postgrafting immunosuppression methods essential for dependable donor cell engraftment.