Table 1.

Mouse Models for Cellular Therapies

	Advantage	Disadvantage
Syngeneic	– Immunocompetent host – Absence of major histocompatibility (MHC) barriers, no GVHD – Diverse genetically engineered models/strains available to study molecular mechanisms – Spontaneous tumor models available, including metastasis models – Detailed study of interactions between immune system, tumor and microenvironment possible – High reproducibility	– Human cells cannot be tested directly – Inherent differences between mouse and human species: immune system, tumor and microenvironment
Xenogeneic	– Direct testing of human immune cells against human tumor cells – Use of cell lines or primary patient tumor samples	– Immunocompromised host – Cytokine support for human cells suboptimal – Tumor stroma of mouse origin – Development of xenogenic GVHD – Variable reproducibility, depends on passaging conditions of the tumors
Humanized	– Mice reconstituted with a functional human immune system and/or tissue(s) – Allows to study oncogenic viruses with human cell tropism (eg, Epstein-Barr virus–associated malignancies) – Some transgenic strains available (HLA-A*0201, several cytokines, growth factors) – No or minimal xenograft GVHD due to tolerance induction	– Immunocompromised host – Need 10– 12 weeks to establish human immune system – Cytokine support for human cells suboptimal – Tumor stroma of mouse origin (except for the hematopoietic components) – Expensive