Donor Haemoglobin in Anaemic Mice of the W-series transplanted with Haematopoietic Tissue from an Unrelated Donor

Abstract

MICE of the genotype W^νW^ν have genetically determined macrocytic anaemia which persists throughout the normal lifespan. Bernstein and Russell¹ showed that following treatment with syngeneic foetal liver cells the peripheral blood picture of such mice permanently changed to one typical of normal mice. It has since been shown² that the same results can be obtained using allogeneic foetal liver cells. It appeared that in both cases the injected haematopoietic tissue had established itself in the host and was continuing to function according to its own genotype, because evidence obtained from the mean red cell volumes suggested that the peripheral red cells were of a size typical of donor mice. More definite evidence of the persistence of donor tissue was, however, sought. Bone marrow chimeras have been demonstrated by several means using the peripheral red cells. The methods may be based on antigenic differences between host and donor³ or on differences in the physiochemical properties of haemoglobins⁴. One of these, the electrophoretic mobility of haemoglobins, was used to test the status of our W-series chimeras.