NSG® Variants by Research Area

Innovative research models, built using the NOD scid gamma (NSG) mouse

The versatility of NOD scid gamma mice (005557) makes this strain the ideal platform to develop refined genetic models in multiple disease areas including immunology, cancer, transplantation and infectious disease. Innovative mouse strains, built on NSG, with enhanced transgenic and targeted genetic modifications, allow sophisticated experimentation in multiple research areas.

Immunology

• NSG HLA Class I transgenic strains (009617 and 014570), expressing A2 haplotypes
  • Permit HLA restriction and enhance immune responses of human CD8 T cells (Strowig et al., 2009; Shultz et al., 2010)
• NSG HLA Class II transgenic strains, expressing DR1 (012479) and DR4 (017637) haplotypes
  • Show enhanced antibody responses, and human CD4 T cells interact more effectively with human antigen presenting cells. A NRG DR4 transgenic strain, “DRAG” (017914), is accessible to for-profit entities (Danner R et al., 2011).
• NSG transgenic human membrane-bound Kit ligand (017830)
  • Improved myeloid engraftment (especially mast cells) and do not require pre-conditioning irradiation before engrafting human hematopoietic stem cells (Brehm et al., 2012; Takagi et al., 2012)
• NSG transgenic human IL-3, CSF2, Kit ligand (013062)
  • Supports higher levels of human myeloid cell engraftment (Miller et al., 2013)
• NOD Rag gamma (NRG) (007799)
  • Radiation-resistant alternative to NSG mice
  • Equally effective at engrafting human hematopoietic stem cells and undergoing multilineage hematopoiesis as NSG (Pearson et al., 2008)
• NSG expressing EGFP (021937)
  • Expresses EGFP in all cells of the embryo and adult
  • Facilitates visualization of allogeneic and xenogeneic grafts
• NSG expressing human IL15 cytokine (030890)
  • Improved function and abundance of human NK cells following CD34 humanization (Brehm et al., 2018)
• NSG without MHC class I or class II molecules (025216)
  • Most resistant to xeno-GVHD of all NSG variants (Brehm et al., 2018)
• NSG with Kit mutation (026622)
  • Can be humanized with CD34 cells in the absence of preconditioning irradiation (McIntosh et al., 2015)

HIV & Other Infectious Diseases

• NSG HLA Class I transgenic strains (009617 and 014570), expressing A2 haplotypes
  • Allow HLA restriction of developing human CD8 cells in humanized models, and provide improved platforms for viral infection and vaccine models (Strowig et al., 2009; Shultz et al., 2010)
  • Antibody responses improved in a Dengue virus infection model (Jaiswal et al., 2012)
• NSG HLA Class II transgenic strains, expressing DR1 (012479) and DR4 (017637) haplotypes
  • Allow HLA restriction of developing human CD4 cells and improve interactions with antigen-presenting cells
  • Enhanced IgG responses
• NSG mice lacking MHC class I, NSG B2m (010636) and NSG (KbDb ) null (023848)
  • Enable longer studies following human PBMC engraftment (King et al., 2008 and Covassin et al., 2013)

Cancer

• NSG transgenic human IL-3, CSF2, Kit ligand (013062)
  • Show enhanced patient-derived acute myeloid leukemia engraftment (Wunderlich et al., 2010)
• NSG Hprt mice (012480)
  • Facilitates isolation of human cancer cells from mouse stroma in vitro, and enable establishment of new patient-derived cell lines (Kamiyama et al., 2013)
• NSG expressing EGFP (021937)
  • Expresses EGFP in all cells of the embryo and adult
  • Facilitates visualization of allogeneic and xenogeneic grafts

Transplantation Research

• NSG without MHC class I or class II molecules (025216)
  • Most resistant to xeno-GVHD of all NSG variants (Brehm et al., 2018)
• NSG lacking MHC class I, NSG B2m (010636) and NSG (K^b ) null (023848)
  • Enable longer studies following human PBMC engraftment (King et al., 2008 and Covassin et al., 2013)
• NSG lacking MHC class II (021885)
  • Resistant to xenogenic graft-versus-host-disease (Covassin et al., 2011)
• NSG expressing EGFP (021937)
  • Expresses EGFP in all cells of the embryo and adult
  • Facilitates visualization of allogeneic and xenogeneic grafts
• NSG-PiZ, with AAT deficiency (028842)
  • Allows stable engraftment of human and allogeneic mouse hepatocytes (Borel et al., 2017)

Diabetes

• NRG Akita (014568)
  • Spontaneously develop hyperglycemia and allow engraftment of human pancreatic islets and stem cell therapies for Type 1 Diabetes (Brehm et al., 2010)