Figure 1.

(A) Genetic mouse models of MDS. Using various approaches, these animals allow modeling of MDS in immune competent hosts and in the presence of the endogenous, often unmutated microenvironment. They also provide the analytical tools to study how various mutations impact stem cell function and clonal dominance. Their major shortcoming is that they don’t capture the genetic heterogeneity of MDS. (B) Xenograft mouse models of MDS. Using patient-derived MDS cells, these animals allow modeling of genetically complex disease and the study of clonal architecture and clonal evolution. Most recent humanized immunodeficient mice can even model erythroid maturation, though limited generation of neutrophils and platelets are thus far a major limitation. Created with BioRender.com.