Transplant of ex vivo incubated bone marrow with rIL -7 for the enhancement of immuno-hematopoietic reconstitution

Abstract

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a critical cytokine in early B and T cell development. Peripheral T cell expansion and thymopoiesis and is a result of the ongoing reconstitution from uncommitted stem cells after transplant. We investigated the efficacy of ex vivo incubated bone marrow cells treated with recombinant human IL-7 (rIL-7) on subsequent in vivo murine models of syngeneic bone marrow (BM) transplant. After ex vivo culture with rIL-7, we observed a 1½-fold increase in BM cellularity; this increase was associated with an enhanced reconstitution of bone marrow cells and thymocytes at 45 days post-transplant. In addition to increased cellularity, lymphocytes from mice transplanted with cultured rIL-7showed enhanced proliferative responses to mitogenic stimulation. These findings suggest rIL-7 to be a promising agent for the clinical application of treating immune deficiency and enhancing immuno-hematopoietic reconstitution of the stem cell auto/allograft.

Keywords::

• bone marrow transplant
• immune reconstitution
• interleukin-7 (IL-7)
• stem cell transplant

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the Danny Cunniff Leukemia Research Laboratory for its continuous support of our ongoing basic and clinical research and Aviva Yoselis for her editorial assistance.

Potential conflict of interest

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