Chimera formation of platelet GP II b Bak a/b by intrauterine transplantation of fetal liver stem cells

To investigate whether artificial heterozygous chimeras of platelets can be established by intrauterine transplantation of fetal liver stem cells and evaluate its potential use for the treatment of Glanzmann thrombasthenia. Platelet glycoprotein (GP) II b Bak a/b (or GP II b I le843Ser) was used as a genetic marker. A homozygous 16-week-old Bak a/a fetus (as donor) and a homozygous 16.5-week-old Bak b/b fetus (as recipient) were screened from 42 pregnant women hospitalized for abortion. PCR with allele specific primers and FOK I digestion based on PCR products were used. Aborted donor fetal liver cell suspensions were prepared and intrauterine transplantation was carried out by infusion of 4 ml fetal liver cells (22 x 10(5)) into the recipient umbilical vein under ultrasonic visualization. At gestation termination (abortion), 21 days after transplantation, chimera GP II b Bak a/b of the recipient were detected by FOK 1 digestion based on PCR from DNA and RT-PCR from platelet RNA. Intrauterine transplantation of fetal liver cell may provide an effective way for curing GT or other inherited diseases.