OBJECTIVETo establish a novel severe aplastic anemia (SAA) mouse model by interferon-γ (IFN-γ) plus busulphan.

METHODSThirty clean-class BALB/c female mice were intraperitoneally injected with IFN-γ and intragastrically administrated with busulphan (group I), meanwhile busulphan alone group (n = 30, group II) and normal control group (n = 30, group III). Multi-parameters were compared among the three groups.

RESULTSIn group I at day 10 after treatment, the incidence of SAA was 100% and mortality 20% respectively; the WBC, HGB, PLT, absolute reticulocyte count (Ret) and tibial nucleated cell count (TNCC) were (0.8 ± 0.3) × 10(9)/L, (45 ± 20) g/L, (10 ± 8) × 10(9)/L, (15.2 ± 10.2) × 10(9)/L, (12 ± 7) × 10(6)/tibia, respectively, which were significantly different from the other two groups (all P < 0.05). The bone marrow smears and patho-histological examinations showed marked reductions of marrow cell proliferation, and increases of the percentages of non-hematopoietic cells and cellular adipose. The depression was severe and irreversible. In group II, the blood cells count, TNCC and marrow proliferation recovered gradually with erythroid hyperplasia and hematopoietic dysplasia.

CONCLUSIONSIFN-γ plus busulphan can establish a SAA mouse model in a relatively short period, which is more resemble with human SAA.