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Human B-Cell Development in a Mouse Environment

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Humanized Mice for HIV Research

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Abstract

B lymphocytes are the source of pathogen-specific and neutralizing antibodies (Abs), and they also regulate the development of lymphoid tissue and the activity of T cells and other hematopoietic cell types. Hematopoietic humanized mice (hu-mice) represent a relevant experimental tool to explore basic and translational mechanisms of human B-cell development, B-cell activation, and B-cell function. These animals readily generate human B cells in high proportion relative to other hematopoietic lineages. All stages of B-cell maturation can be found in hu-mice, including naïve, activated, IgM memory, and class-switched B cells, and furthermore these mice produce significant amounts of secreted immunoglobulin. However, the majority of B cells only progress to the immature/transitional stage suggesting that only some of the factors necessary for human B-cell maturation are present and functional in the mouse environment. Thus, in addition to providing a model for understanding human B-cell responses to infections and vaccines and for testing B-cell-specific therapies, the hu-mouse also affords a great opportunity to learn which cell types and molecules are critical for B-cell maturation and function. Here, we review the kinetics, characteristics, and limitations of human B-cell development in hu-mice and summarize what these uniquely translational animal models have taught us about human B-cell biology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, 12800 East 19th Avenue, Mail Stop 8333, 80045-2508, Aurora, CO, USA

    Julie Lang & Roberta Pelanda

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  1. Julie Lang
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  2. Roberta Pelanda
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Correspondence to Roberta Pelanda .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA

    Larisa Y. Poluektova

  2. Center for AIDS Research, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    J. Victor Garcia

  3. Research Center for AIDS Laboratory of Viral Pathogenesis, Kyoto University Institute for Virus Research, Sakyo-ku, Japan

    Yoshio Koyanagi

  4. Division of Hematology, University Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Markus G. Manz

  5. Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA

    Andrew M. Tager

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Lang, J., Pelanda, R. (2014). Human B-Cell Development in a Mouse Environment. In: Poluektova, L., Garcia, J., Koyanagi, Y., Manz, M., Tager, A. (eds) Humanized Mice for HIV Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1655-9_12

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