Constructing a Humanized Mouse Model with Engineered Immunity against HIV

Source: Zhen, A., et al. Stem-cell Based Engineered Immunity Against HIV Infection in the Humanized Mouse Model. J. Vis. Exp. (2016). The video demonstrates a technique to generate a humanized mouse model with stem-cell-based engineered immunity against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Human fetal thymus tissue and engineered hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are implanted into the kidney capsule of a severely immunocompromised mouse. The HSCs, which express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) against HIV, are mixed in a gelatinous protein mixture that promotes their co-localization with thymus tissue. Post-procedure, the HSCs differentiate into various human immune cells, resulting in the development of a humanized mouse model with a functional human immune system against HIV.