Treatment of hypoplastic anemia in mice with placental transplants

Abstract

A genetic mutation in mice (W/Wv) causes an autosomal recessive disease characterized by hypoplastic anemia which lasts throughout life. Double- dominant W/Wv anemic mice were sublethally irradiated to facilitate repopulation of marrow with transplanted cells and were injected intravenously with suspensions of 5–10 million placental cells of 15 days gestation derived from normal, isogeneic donors. Red cell counts fell promptly after irradiation and then rose progressively over a period of weeks, reaching normal levels of the nonmutant. Mean corpuscular volume and hemoglobin electrophoresis patterns of red cells in recipient W/Wv mice resembled those of normal donor animals. The therapeutic effect lasted for the duration of the observation period, in some instances over 9 mo. W/Wv mice that were administered Hanks' solution or fetal blood, instead of placental transplants, remained anemic. Late gestation placentas (18 days) were also ineffective.