<i>MUP-uPA/SCID/Bg</i> mice sensitivity to HBV.

<p>Titration of hepatitis B virus in mice infected with various virus dilutions of HBV-infected chimpanzee plasma and assayed by q-PCR (n= 3-5).</p

Sensitivity of <i>MUP-uPA/SCID/Bg</i> mice inoculated with HCV plasma derived from infected chimpanzee.

<p>Infection was determined by nested PCR on HCV RNA extracted from mouse sera. A 146bp nPCR product was detected by agarose gel electrophoresis. The lanes represent sera from mice inoculated serial 10-fold dilutions of an HCV infected chimpanzee serum that contained 10^4.5 CID50/mL.</p

H & E staining of a non-engrafted MUP-uPA-SCID/Bg mouse liver.

<p><b>A</b>. Liver section from a 2-m old transgenic mouse with no necrosis or inflammation. <b>B</b>. Liver section from a 4-m old transgenic mouse. <b>C</b>. Liver section from a 6-m old transgenic mouse shows extensive areas of necrosis (Arrow). </p

Long-term viral propagation of HCV genotype 1a in <i>MUP-uPA/SCID/Bg</i> chimeric mice.

<p>Several engrafted and HCV inoculated chimeric mice were monitored for 60 days post-inoculation for HCV replication and compared to mice that were not inoculated with HCV. Plasma from HCV-infected Chimpanzee was used as a positive control for HCV RNA copies in qRT-PCR assays.</p

The number of human hepatocytes needed for optimum engraftment was determined by the level of human albumin secretion in the cells.

<p>Plots represent the mean human albumin concentration and interquartile ranges of human albumin levels (ug/mL) in the serum <i>of </i><i>MUP-uPA-SCID/Bg</i> mice transplanted with different numbers of human hepatocytes (n=25, 310 ug/mL <u>+</u>45, n=31, 1.75 mg/mL <u>+</u>365, n=20, 1.8 mg/mL <u>+</u>339).</p

Detection of HCV infection in transgenic MUP-uPA/SCID/Bg mice engrafted with human hepatocytes.

<p><b>A</b>. .Bright field image of transgenic mouse liver section. <b>B</b>. DAPI staining of nuclei. <b>C</b>. Stained with anti-hAlb (green). <b>D</b>. Stained with anti-HCV (NS5) antibody (red). <b>E</b>. Merged sections that were stained with both anti-hAlb and anti-HCV (NS5) primary antibodies (yellow). <b>F</b>. Section from engrafted but not virus infected mouse liver stained with anti-hAlb and anti-HCV (NS5) primary antibodies.</p

The level of human hepatocyte repopulation of transgenic mouse livers as determined by immuno-staining liver sections from human hepatocyte engrafted transgenic mice.

<p>Plot represents the mean and interquartile ranges of human albumin levels (ug/mL) in the serum <i>of </i><i>MUP-uPA-SCID/Bg</i> mice transplanted with different numbers of human hepatocytes. (n=50; ***P < 0.0008). </p

Percentage of mice successfully engrafted at various ages.

<p>One hundred mice at different ages at the time of engraftment with human hepatocytes were evaluated for successful engraftement by measuring human albumin concentration in the serum. Mice were considered successfully engrafted if we measured >100 ug/mL of human albumin. </p

Engraftment of primary human hepatocytes into necrotic liver of <i>MUP-uPA/SCID/Bg</i> mice.

<p><b>A</b>. Human hepatocytes are identified within the parenchyma of a chimeric mouse that had been engrafted with human hepatocytes at age 27 weeks and euthanized 10 weeks later. Staining was done with HRP-conjugated anti-human albumin (brown-black) and counter stained with hemotoxylin (blue). <b>B</b>. Section of liver from a control unengrafted transgenic mouse stained with similar HRP-conjugated anti- human albumin. </p

FcεRI mRNA expression levels in the upper gastrointestinal tract under inflammatory conditions.

<p>(A) FcεRIα-, (B) FcεRIβ-, and (C) FcεRIγ-mRNA expression levels in specimens from children with gastritis/esophagitis (open squares), celiac disease (open triangles), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (open diamonds), and normal mucosa (open circles). * p<0.05, Kruskal-Wallis test.</p