Effects of mesenchymal stromal cells on human myeloid dendritic cell differentiation and maturation in a humanized mouse model

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have shown promise as cellular therapy in allogeneic transplantation, although the precise mechanisms underlying their benefit in clinical trials are difficult to study. We previously demonstrated that MSCs exert immunoregulatory effects in mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cell (DC) culture. Since mouse studies do not reliably reproduce human events, we used a humanized mouse model to study the immunomodulatory effects of human MSCs on human DC immunobiology. Humanized mice were established by injection of cord blood CD34⁺ cells into NOD.Cg-Prkdc^scid Il2rg^tm1Wjl/SzJ (NOD scid gamma, NSG) mice. Human cells were detected in the mouse bone marrow, blood, and spleen 12weeks after transplantation. Human DCs were differentiated from humanized mouse bone marrow cells during human MSC co-culture. MSCs inhibited DC differentiation and kept DCs in an immature state as demonstrated by phenotype and function. In conclusion, humanized mouse models represent a useful method to study the function of human MSCs on human DC immunobiology.