Fig. 1

Development and characterization of humanized microglial mice. Humanized microglia mice serve as tool to elucidate neuroHIV pathobiology and to develop therapeutic and elimination antiretroviral strategies for HIV infections. IL-34 was transgenically introduced and at the same time CD34 + HSCs were injected into the liver of immunodeficient newborn mice. These mice developed a functional human lymphoid system comprised of B cells, T cells and macrophages and brain enriched with human microglial cells. Blue and red colored cells are human and mouse cells, respectively. In regards to the timing, human cells are introduced after birth to reconstitute lymphoid and solid organ tissues devoid of endogenous murine immunocytes. The human immunocytes show limited number reductions with time after injection as new cells are produced from progenitors. These exist, over time, less frequently in brain and periphery compared to mouse cells