In article <2qn1j7$67j at eagle.natinst.com>, klopfer at natinst.com (Mike Klopfer) writes:
|>|> I read somewhere about transplanting a functioning human immune system
|> into SCID mice. I was wondering if there are other examples of transplanting
|> immune systems between species. I was wondering if this could be a potential
|> treatment for hiv e.g. using the immune sytem of a species that isn't
|> susceptible to the virus to replace the immune system of the hiv infected
|> person.
|>|> Along this line I've heard of a treatment (maybe it was called Total
|> Lymphoid Irradiation) using radiation to destroy a persons immune
|> system. Then the immune system can be restarted from saved stem cells
|> possibly eliminating rejection of transplanted organs. I was wondering
|> if something like this is being tried or used? If this is not successfull I
|> would also be interested in finding out what is the best guess as to why not.
|>|> Thanks for your time.
|>|> mike
|>
Hi Mike,
About transplantation of a human immune system in SCID mice it is still difficult
to restore a complete functionnal immune system. It seems that some important
functions are restored allowing to get for example functional T cells but I think
that we are far to really recreate mice with a fully functional human immune
system. One of the most important problem lies on the fact that the body
background (hormones, tissues recognition molecules, neurotransmitters) are
different between species. Since these environment is crucial during the
development and the evolution of the immune system, I guess that we will not
succeed in this project in a short time.
Your idea about transplanting people suffering from AIDS with an immune system
from another species looks like science fiction. First, HIV infects other tissues
than the immune system. It means that a functional "alien" immune system could
not be sufficient to get rid off all HIV. On the other hand, you could get the
opposite effect: the restored "alien" immune system could damage severely all
tissues infected by HIV.
Another problem is the sensitivity of the transplanted human to new pathogens
typical for the species of the graft.
About the transplantation after total irradiation, it is frequently used on mice
in laboratory and as far as I know this technique is used for people suffering of
leukemia.
Bye
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