Characterization of a xenograft model for anti-CD19 CAR T cell studies

Purpose Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell development for B cell malignancies treatment has triggered a paradigm shift in oncology. The development of anti-CD19 CAR T cells relies primarily on a panel of cell line-derived xenograft models, including Raji cells; however, the behavior of this model is under debate. We attempted to characterize this lymphoma model and propose outcome measures for CAR T cell studies Methods Raji cell line was inoculated into NOG mice via intra-venous (IV), intra-peritoneal (IP), and subcutaneous (SC) routes with different inoculum sizes, and consequent clinical and histopathological outcomes were assessed. Results Inoculum sizes of 10 5 –10 6 resulted in a complete take rate. The mice with IV and SC-inoculated Raji cells presented the shortest and longest survival among lymphoma-bearing mice, respectively ( P